Combined phaco, vitrectomy, IOL as effective as sequential surgeries in patients with diabetes

SEOUL, Korea — Combined phacoemulsification, pars plana vitrectomy and IOL implantation can be as safe and effective in selected patients with diabetes as in those without diabetes, according to a study. The outcomes in combined procedures are comparable to outcomes of sequential surgery, the study authors said.

Tae-Young Chung, MD, and colleagues here at the Seoul National University College of Medicine retrospectively reviewed the results of 52 eyes that underwent the combined cataract/vitrectomy procedure. Overall, the postoperative best corrected visual acuity was better than preop in 44 eyes; 12 eyes achieved a BCVA of 20/40 or better. Postop complications included transient intraocular pressure increase, hyphema, neovascular glaucoma, anterior chamber fibrin exudation, vitreous hemorrhage, retinal detachment and posterior capsular opacification.

Patients with diabetes did not have significantly different visual outcomes with either combined or sequential surgery, but neovascular glaucoma occurred only in the combined-surgery group of patients with diabetes. Other complications were not different between the combined-surgery group and the sequential surgery group. In the nondiabetic patients, the postop visual outcomes and complication rates were not significantly different between the groups.

The study is published in the November issue of the Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.