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Cataract surgery after vitrectomy may lead to macular edema
Patients with previous pars plana vitrectomy and internal limiting membrane peeling who later underwent successful cataract surgery frequently developed macular edema, according to a study.
The study included 20 eyes of 20 patients with previous 23-gauge pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) and internal limiting membrane peeling who underwent cataract surgery. A control group included 15 eyes with senile cataract and no history of ocular surgery or retinal disease.
Best corrected visual acuity, optical coherence tomography, infrared fundus imaging and biomicroscopy were evaluated before surgery and at 1 week, 1 month and 3 months postoperatively.
Snellen visual acuity in the PPV group increased from 0.3 lines preoperatively to 0.85 lines at 3 months; the gain was statistically significant (P < .05).
Central millimeter thickness increased from 393 µm preoperatively to 408 µm at 3 months, which was also significant (P < .05).
Study results showed that central millimeter thickness increased more than 35 µm in eight of 19 patients in the PPV group at 1 month; five of these patients developed significant cystoid macular edema. Retinal thickening was also significantly greater in most patients at 3 months. No patients in the control group had cystoid macular edema.