Decreased incidence of capsule complications and vitreous loss during phacoemulsification in eyes with pseudoexfoliation syndrome.

PURPOSE

To report a series of patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome who had phacoemulsification without an increased incidence of intraoperative complications or late intraocular lens (IOL) dislocation.

SETTING

Department of Ophthalmology, Kaiser Permanente, Denver, Colorado, USA.

METHODS

Patients were prospectively recruited from a consecutive series of all cases of phacoemulsification performed by 1 surgeon. There were 67 eyes with pseudoexfoliation syndrome and 1670 eyes without pseudoexfoliation. The incidence of vitreous loss, capsule tears, and zonular dialysis was compared between the 2 groups.

RESULTS

The incidence of vitreous loss was 1.5% in eyes with pseudoexfoliation syndrome and 2.3% in eyes without pseudoexfoliation. The difference between the 2 groups was not statistically significant (chi square = 0.203; P =.33). There were no cases of posterior capsule tears or zonular dialysis in pseudoexfoliation eyes without vitreous loss. No IOL dislocated over a mean follow-up of 54.1 months.

CONCLUSION

Although caution is still advised, patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome who have phacoemulsification can achieve results similar to patients without pseudoexfoliation.