Survey finds postop aphakia rare after cataract surgery

One of every 200 cataract operations in a long-term Swedish study ended in postoperative aphakia, researchers announced. The presence of poor preoperative visual acuity and ocular comorbidity was the most common risk factor for aphakia, the survey found.

Mats Lundström, MD, PhD, and colleagues analyzed data from 62 clinics participating in the Swedish National Cataract Register from 1997 to 2001. The data set recorded information on the type of surgery and IOL implanted, including a “no lens implanted” option.

For the study period, 1,410 cases of postop aphakia were reported out of 287,951 cataract surgeries for which complete IOL data was available. Ocular comorbidity and poor preoperative visual acuity in the eye to be operated on was significantly related to postop aphakia in each year of the study.

Glaucoma and poor visual acuity in the surgical eye meant a 12.8% higher risk for aphakia after surgery than a better visual acuity and no ocular comorbidity, the authors found.

In a sub-analysis of data from six of the clinics in the study, the most frequent reasons for unplanned aphakia were intraoperative capsule problems and vitreous loss. In two-thirds of those cases, a second operation was performed.

The two-part study is published in the October issue of Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.