Diabetic retinopathy progression not affected by cataract surgery

VIENNA, Austria — Modern cataract surgery seems to have no impact on the progression of diabetic retinopathy, according to a study. Most patients with diabetic retinopathy achieve visual improvement after cataract removal, but poorer visual outcomes are likelier in patients developing macular edema, the study authors concluded.

Katharina Krepler and colleagues here at the University of Vienna followed 42 patients with mild to moderate diabetic retinopathy who underwent phacoemulsification with IOL implantation. Outcomes measured 1 year postoperatively included visual acuity, progression of retinopathy and incidence of clinically significant macular edema. Retinopathy progression and incidence of macular edema in the surgically treated eye were compared with the unoperated fellow eye.

Visual acuity improved in 85% of patients postoperatively and was better than 0.5 in 71% of patients. Progression of retinopathy occurred in 12% of eyes after cataract surgery and in 10.8% of unoperated fellow eyes. No patient developed retinopathy in the operated eye. Clinically significant macular edema occurred in 13 (31%) of the operated eyes, five of which had retinal ischemia. Clinically significant macular edema occurred in five of the unoperated eyes.

The study is published in the August issue of Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology.