EARLY INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE RESULTS IN CATARACT PATIENTS WITH GLAUCOMA WHO UNDERWENT INTRAOCULAR LENS IMPLANTATION BY HYDROIMPLANTATION

To evaluate the intraocular pressure changes after intraocular lens (IOL) implantation by hydroimplantation in patients with cataract in glaucoma

An interventional study

9 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma who developed cataracts that reduced visual acuity during follow-up and for whom cataract surgery was indicated were included in the study. All of these patients underwent routine phacoemulsification followed by cortex cleaning and IOL implantation was performed under irrigation instead of injecting viscoelastic into the capsule. All secondary causes of glaucoma, such as narrow angle glaucoma and pseudoexfoliation glaucoma, which could affect the outcome of this stage, were excluded.

The mean age of the patients was 72± 8 years. Preoperative visual acuity was 0.2 (0.05-0.30) according to the Snellen visual threshold, whereas postoperative visual acuity was 0.80 (0.40-0.90) at 1 month. In this case, the visual acuity of the patients increased significantly at 1 month (p= 0.008). Preoperative endothelial count 2717±  was 257 and postoperative endothelial count 2582±  was 351. There was no statistically significant difference in the decrease in endothelial count at the 1st month (p=0.058). In terms of intraocular pressure, the mean peroperative value was 17.88±  7.09, 17.77± 4.86 at the 6th postoperative hour and 23.22 ± 10.54 at the 1st postoperative day. There was no significant difference between peroperative and postoperative values in intraocular pressure (p=0.09).

IOL implantation with hydroimplantation technique is a safe technique in glaucoma patients. The absence of IOP spikes in early postoperative periods is a preferable condition in glaucoma patients.