Corneal thickness changes following cataract surgery: effect of lens implantation and sodium hyaluronate.

Consecutive patients undergoing intracapsular cataract surgery with and without lens implantation were included in one of three groups of fifteen patients for postoperative corneal thickness measurement. One group underwent cataract extraction alone, another group had cataract extraction and lens implantation using iris supported posterior chamber implants, and another group underwent lens implantation with the use of sodium hyaluronate to reform the anterior chamber after cataract extraction. Maximal increase in corneal thickness occurred within the first 24 hours of surgery in all groups. No significant difference in corneal thickness between the implant and non-implant group was found at any time. When sodium hyaluronate was used to reform the anterior chamber prior to lens implantation the increase in corneal thickness was significantly less than in the group not on sodium hyaluronate (0.01 less than p less than 0.02 on the third postoperative day). In the long term all patients' corneas returned to preoperative levels within 28 days of surgery.