Impact of Pseudoexfoliative Syndrome on Effective Lens Position, Anterior Chamber Depth Changes, and Visual Outcome After Cataract Surgery

Medium-term visual and refractive outcomes in patients with pseudoexfoliation implanted with a toric or multifocal intraocular lens

PURPOSE

To report medium-term visual acuity and refractive outcomes of patients with pseudoexfoliation implanted with toric or multifocal intraocular lenses (IOLs).

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed patients with pseudoexfoliation who had undergone phacoemulsification between 2016 and 2020 with at least 24 months follow-up.

RESULTS

Mean follow-up was 44.17 ± 14.95 months. Toric IOLs were implanted in 48 eyes: mean uncorrected LogMAR visual acuity one month after surgery was 0.03 ± 0.09, decreasing to 0.08 ± 0.11 at the last visit (p = .01). Mean refractive cylinder was -0.12 ± 0.36 diopters one month after surgery and -0.25 ± 0.44 diopters at the last follow-up visit, p = .012. Multifocal IOLs were implanted in 42 patients: binocular uncorrected distance visual acuity was -0.02 ± 0.04 one month after surgery and 0.01 ± 0.05 at the last visit (p = .004); near acuity was 0.01 ± 0.03 and 0.04 ± 0.06 respectively (p = .001). In eyes with pseudoexfoliation, absolute spherical equivalent prediction error was 0.22 ± 0.20 diopters for toric and 0.21 ± 0.19 diopters for multifocal IOLs. One month after surgery 68.6% of eyes with toric IOLs and 74.2% of eyes with multifocal IOLs were within ±0.25 diopters of target spherical equivalent and 91.6% and 90.5% were within ±0.5 diopters, respectively. Spherical equivalent did not change significantly during follow-up for either group.

CONCLUSION

Prediction error in eyes with pseudoexfoliation implanted with toric or multifocal IOLs was low and similar to values reported for normal eyes. Postoperative refractive cylinder with toric IOLs was low, with little change during follow-up. Visual function in patients receiving multifocal IOLs was excellent. Therefore, the implantation of these IOLs in eyes with pseudoexfoliation does not seem to cause medium-term problems.

Pseudoexfoliation Glaucoma as a Predictor of Refractive Surprise After Uneventful Cataract Surgery

PRCIS

The pseudoexfoliation glaucoma group produced higher mean absolute error (MAE) and higher percentages of large-magnitude prediction error, in all investigated intraocular lens formulas. Postoperative anterior chamber angle and change in intraocular pressure (IOP) were associated with absolute error.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study is to evaluate refractive outcomes of cataract surgery in patients with pseudoexfoliation glaucoma (PXG) and to determine the predictive factors for refractive errors.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Fifty-four eyes with PXG, 33 eyes with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) and 58 normal eyes undergoing phacoemulsification, in Haydarpasa Numune Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey, were included in this prospective study. The follow-up was 3 months. Preoperative and postoperative anterior segment parameters measured by Scheimpflug camera were compared after adjusting for age, sex, and axial length. The mean prediction error, MAE, and percentages of large-magnitude prediction error (>±1.0 D) in SRK/T, Barrett Universal II, and Hill-RBF formulas were compared.

RESULTS

There was a significantly greater anterior chamber angle (ACA) enlargement in PXG eyes compared with POAG ( P =0.006) and normals ( P =0.04). The PXG group showed significantly higher MAE in SRK/T, Barrett Universal II, and Hill-RBF (0.72, 0.79, and 0.79 D, respectively) than POAG (0.43, 0.25, and 0.31 D, respectively) and normals (0.34, 0.36, 0.31 D, respectively) ( P <0.0001). The large-magnitude error was significantly more frequent in the PXG group among the 3 groups with SRK/T (37%, 18%, and 12%, respectively) ( P =0.005), Barrett Universal II (32%, 9%, and 10%, respectively) ( P =0.005), and Hill-RBF (32%, 9%, and 9%, respectively) ( P =0.002). The MAE was correlated with postoperative ACA and IOP decrease in Barrett Universal II ( P =0.02 and 0.007, respectively) and Hill-RBF ( P =0.03 and 0.02, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

PXG may be a predictor for refractive surprise after cataract surgery. Prediction errors may be due to IOP-lowering effect of surgery and larger postoperative ACA than expected, in the presence of zonular weakness.

Three-piece intraocular lens in the sulcus with optic capture in patients with mild to moderate zonular weakness in exfoliation

Purpose

To study the use of sulcus placement of a 3-piece intraocular lens (IOL) with optic capture in patients with exfoliation with zonular weakness.

Methods

Data on all exfoliation patients who had direct or indirect evidence of zonular weakness and had a 3-piece IOL implanted in the sulcus with optic capture over a 5-year period between January 2017 and January 2022 were included in this retrospective case series.

Results

The study comprised of 35 eyes of 35 patients. The mean age at surgery of the 20 male and 13 female patients was 75.21 years ± 5.74 (standard deviation (SD)). The mean pupillary diameter was 5.77 ± 2.23 mm (range: 10 to 3 mm). A capsular tension ring (CTR) was used in 17 cases and iris hooks as a pupil-expanding device were used in 15 cases. No patients had an increase in inflammation after surgery and there were no late subluxation or dislocation of "in the bag" posterior chamber IOL or major complications. There was a significant improvement in visual acuity.

Conclusion

The sulcus placement of 3-piece IOL with optic capture is the ideal technique in patients with clinical or intraoperative evidence of mild to moderate zonular weakness. It may also be more appropriate in relatively younger patients (in the fifties or sixties) with exfoliation with no overt zonulopathy to prevent late subluxation or dislocation of "in the bag" IOL.