Abstract Purpose: Cystoid macular oedema usually occurs following complicated cataract surgery. It can also occur after an uneventful cataract surgery, which can result in visual impairment if not noticed. The present study was conducted to assess changes in macular thickness (MT) following uneventful cataract surgery. Methods: This was a prospective observational case series. All patients more than 40 years old and planned to undergo routine phacoemulsification were included. We excluded the patients with hazy media precluding preoperative OCT (optical coherence tomography), diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, uveitis, any retinal pathology, a history of previous ocular surgeries, and previous use of any eye drop containing prostaglandin or pilocarpine. A complete cataract workup was done, including preoperative spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Patients then underwent phacoemulsification, and patients who had any complications were excluded. Macular thickness was assessed on postoperative days one, seven, and 28 using SD-OCT. Results: A significant increase in central and paracentral macular thickness was noted at postoperative day 7, returning near baseline by day 28. These changes did not significantly affect visual acuity. No association was found between macular thickness and phaco energy, effective phaco time, and surgical duration. Conclusion: Macular thickness may transiently increase after the uncomplicated phacoemulsification. SD-OCT is useful for detecting subtle postoperative macular changes not evident on routine examination.
Sankar et al. (Thu,) studied this question.