Light as a drug: prospective randomized evaluation and comparison of the effect of decreased illumination on visual recovery after cataract surgery.

PURPOSE: To compare the effect of decreased illumination on the rate of postoperative visual recovery, and the incidence of cystoid macular edema (CME) with surgical visualization achieved with a traditional analog operating microscope compared with a 3D digital visualization system.

SETTING

Ambulatory surgery center, New York.

DESIGN

Prospective, randomized, consecutive, single-surgeon series.

METHODS

Patients undergoing routine cataract surgery were randomized into either (1) visualization through the binoculars of a standard operating microscope ("traditional group") or (2) visualization through a 3D digital visualization system affixed to the same operating microscope ("digital group"). Note was made in each case of light intensity used, light exposure time, cumulative dissipated energy (CDE), femtosecond laser use, preoperative medical and ocular conditions, intraoperative and/or postoperative complications, and preoperative and postoperative visual acuities and optical coherence tomography confirmed CME.

RESULTS

The study comprised 118 eyes in the traditional group and 96 eyes in the digital group. There were no differences in preoperative visual acuity, light exposure time, CDE, or femtosecond laser use between groups, but the light intensity used in the digital group was significantly less (19.5% ± 0.5%) than in the traditional group (48.6% ± 0.6%; P < .001). Furthermore, the digital group achieved a better decimal postoperative day 1 visual acuity (0.60 ± 0.03) with less rates of CME (2.1%) when compared with that of the traditional group (0.51 ± 0.02, P = .03; and 9.2%, P = .03), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Visual recovery and CME rates were significantly better in patients who underwent cataract surgery assisted by the 3D digital visualization platform without an increase in complications or surgical time.