Variations in Choroidal and Macular Thickness Maps after Uneventful Phacoemulsification.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate changes in retinal and choroidal thickness maps following uncomplicated phacoemulsification using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI-OCT).

METHODS

A prospective study was done on 66 eyes. EDI-OCT was performed preoperative, 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months postoperative measuring retinal and choroidal thickness at the fovea and the 9 ETDRS subfields.

RESULTS

Subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) showed statistically insignificant increase after 1 week (‎‎P = 0.473), but the increase was statistically significant after 1 month (P = 0.014). However, after 3 months, there was non-significant difference from baseline (P = 0.073). Foveal retinal thickness (FT) demonstrated statistically insignificant increase after 1 week (P = 0.094), but statistically significant increase was noted after 1 and 3 months (P = 0.000).

CONCLUSION

Uneventful phaco induced statistically significant increases in FT and SFCT from the first postoperative month; however, 3 months postoperative the increase in retinal thickness was maintained but the increase in choroidal thickness became statistically insignificant.