Macular changes after cataract surgery.

PURPOSE: This article aims to highlight if the central macular retina suffers changes after cataract surgery, and to evaluate the eventually discovered changes regarding persistence.

MATERIAL AND METHOD: This retrospective study, which lasted over three years (2021-2023), included patients who underwent cataract surgery performed by one surgeon. Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) imaging assessed macular changes and measured the central macular thickness.

RESULTS

A total of 240 eyes with diagnosed senile cataract were included in this study. The mean age was 66 years ± 4 years. Preoperative central foveal thickness was 210 ± 27.3 µm, the postoperative thickness on day 1 was 234.3 ± 40.2 µm, at 6 months 230.5 ± 35.2 µm, and the 1-year follow-up 229.2 ± 30.3 µm.

DISCUSSION: Macular changes after cataract surgery are easily confirmed by SD-OCT. The evaluation and monitoring of macular changes can be done by using central macular thickness assessment.

CONCLUSIONS

The study provides data from a Romanian pool of patients. The values correlated well with those from similar studies of SD-OCT examinations, but differences were still observed, as there were different devices for performing SD-OCTs.