Abstract
To study effect of AquaLase method used for final management of posterior capsule during cataract surgery on the posterior capsule opacification (PCO) and to verify safety of this method for the eye tissue. The prospective clinical study involving 50 patients (100 eyes) with bilateral cataract having lens removal.
During the surgery was lens removed using torsional phacoemulsification and bimanual irrigation/aspiration. Cleaning of the posterior capsule of the right eye was performed using AquaLase method.
All patients were examined pre-operatively and 3, 6 and 12 months after surgery. Each examination covered best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), endothelial cell count (ECC), corneal pachymetry and digital retroillumination photographs of the anterior segment focused on the posterior capsule were obtained.
The Evaluation of Posterior Capsule Opacification (EPCO 2000) software and the Open-Access Systematic Capsule Assessment (OSCA) system were used for PCO evaluation. BCVA was 0.8 and better in all patients.
Average value for PCO index was in 3, 6 and 12 months postoperatively for right eye 0.260 +- 0.198; 0.259 +- 0.173; 0.308 +- 0.191; for left eye 0.279 +- 0.170; 0.280 +- 0.153; 0.333 +- 0.197. Average value for OSCA score was for right eye 0.599 +- 0.240; 0.605 +- 0.333; 0.598 +- 0.256; for left eye 0.627 +- 0.403; 0.635 +- 0.357; 0.541 +- 0.328.
Nd-YAG capsulotomy was performed in one right eye one year after surgery. Pachymetry and ECC results show that the method AquaLase is safe for eye tissue.
One year after surgery, most cases of PCO were graded as minimal by both software''s of analysis. The results were not statistically significant.