Association of Systemic and Ocular Comorbidities with Visual Recovery in Patients with Postoperative Corneal Oedema: A Real-World Study of Cataract Surgery Outcomes

Background/Objectives: To evaluate the combined effect of systemic and ocular comorbidities on postoperative recovery after phacoemulsification by assessing corneal status, visual acuity outcomes, and visual recovery dynamics using a real-world data study approach. Methods: This retrospective analysis was conducted on patients undergoing small-incision phacoemulsification. Patients were categorised based on the presence of ocular and systemic comorbidities into four groups: those with only ocular diseases, those with only systemic diseases, those with neither ocular nor systemic diseases, and those with both ocular and systemic comorbidities. For evaluation of postoperative recovery and the impact of comorbidities, we analysed postoperative visual acuity and the recovery of visual acuity after the surgery. Results: Our results indicate that ocular comorbidities are associated with slower early postoperative visual recovery, while systemic comorbidities alone did not have a significant impact on visual acuity values and recovery. However, the differences between comorbidity groups decreased over time following surgery and postoperative visual acuity outcomes became comparable across groups. This suggests that regardless of the initial disease burden, the long-term effectiveness of cataract surgery has benefit and leads to improvement in visual function. Conclusions: Patients with ocular comorbidities, because of the slower postoperative recovery based on visual acuity, should receive closer monitoring in the early postoperative period. These findings can help in the optimisation of the postoperative follow-up protocols and reduce the healthcare burden associated with cataract management.