COMPARATIVE STUDY OF MACULAR THICKNESS CHANGES AFTER UNCOMPLICATED PHACOEMULFICATION AND SMALL INCISION CATARACT SURGERY

Aim- To evaluate and compare the changes in macular thickness after uneventful phacoemulsification and small incision cataract surgery (SICS) using spectral domain Optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Methods– Quasi-experimental study of 127 consecutive patients divided in two groups (A- SICS, B – Phacoemulsification) by convenient sampling. Macular thickness was measured as central foveal thickness (CFT) and mean retinal thickness in ring diameter of 3 and 6 mm in all 4 quadrants by SD-OCT. It was measured pre-operatively, postoperative day 1, week 1 and week 4. Statistical analysis was done using student t-test. Group A had Result– 63 and Group B had 64 patients. Predominantly male patients (group A - 49.61%, group B - 50.39%) belonged to the age group of 56-70 years (53.5%) in both the groups. Mean CFT preoperatively was 224.88±16.91µ for group A and 219.61±21.74µ for group B. There was a decrease of CFT on day 1 postoperative in both groups. At 1 and 4 weeks, the thickness increased. It restored back to normal in both groups at 4 weeks (227.38 ± 19.49µ for group A and 224.03 ± 30.39µ for group B). Similar trend was observed in all quadrants. The changes were subclinical. Post cataract surgery there are changes in macular thickness which are mos Conclusion- tly clinically insignificant but are better detected with OCT. These changes are comparable in both SICS and phacoemulsification in the absence of any complications. They do not affect the visual outcome.