To evaluate corneal densitometry after cataract surgery and its association with cumulative dissipated energy (CDE). Ninety-nine eyes of 74 patients who underwent uncomplicated phacoemulsification with intraocular lens (IOL) implantation surgery were included in this retrospective study. Examinations were conducted at baseline and 1 and 3 months after phacoemulsification. Corneal densitometry (CD) and 10-mm corneal volume (CV) measurements were obtained from corneal topography (Pentacam, Oculus, Wetzlar, Germany). The mean CV values increased significantly at the 1 and 3 months after surgery compared to baseline value (p<0.05). The mean CD values increased significantly at 1 month after surgery compared to baseline level for total diameter and all corneal annular zones except zone 2 and zone 3 in the anterior corneal layer (p<0.05). There was a positive correlation between CDE and the change in CD values in zone 3, zone 4 and total diameter in both the anterior and central corneal layers from baseline to 1 month after surgery (r=0.221, r=0.235, r=0.224, r=0.203, r=0.246, r=0.224; for all p<0.05, respectively). Corneal densitometry increased at different depths and layers of the cornea at 1 month after surgery, but returned to baseline values at 3 months after surgery. No correlation was found between CDE and change in CV values from baseline to 1 and 3 months after surgery. There was a positive correlation between CDE and the change in CD values in the peripheral 6-12 mm zone and total diameter within the anterior and central layers of cornea. The lack of endothelial cell count was a significant limitation of our study and limits the ability to differentiate between transient corneal edema and permanent endothelial cell loss as possible causes of postoperative densitometric changes.
Furuncuoğlu et al. (Thu,) studied this question.