Treatment approaches to postoperative fibrinoid syndrome after phacoemulsification

BACKGROUND: Postoperative fibrinoid syndrome (PFS) is an early complication of phacoemulsification, manifested by fibrin deposition on the iris and the intraocular lens surface, which leads to visual acuity decrease. AIM: To assess the rate and the treatment efficacy (by YAG laser, enzymatic, medicalmentous) in PFS after phacoemulsification. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective analysis of 56,019 cataract surgery cases of 20172021. There were 49 patients with PFS divided into 3 groups according to treatment approaches: 1st group medicamentous treatment (MT) + YAG laser destruction of the fibrin film (n = 6); 2nd MT + prourokinase injection into the anterior chamber (n = 6); 3rd MT only (n = 37). RESULTS: There was no difference between groups in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) before the PFS development. There was a more rapid increase in BCVA in the 1st and the 2nd groups compared with the 3rd one on the third day (0.20 0.09 and 0.21 0.08 versus 0.09 0.08 for groups respectively, p = 0.001) and on the fifth day of treatment (0.25 0.10 and 0.27 0.13 versus 0.16 0.14, p = 0.029). Nevertheless, in one week, there was no difference in BCVA between groups. Unfortunately, BCVA did not return to baseline in any group. CONCLUSION: The incidence of PFS after phacoemulsification is relatively low and amounts to 0.093%. The most rapid BCVA recovery was observed in the 1st and the 2nd groups.