Depth of anterior chamber after cataract extraction.

A total of 80 patients with senile cataract had the anterior eye chamber depth measured optically by means of Haag-Streit's attachment II. The distance to the pupillary border was 2.59 +/- 0.05 mm (mean +/- SEM) preoperatively. It increased gradually after cataract extraction to 3.33 +/- 0.04 mm, measured 4 months after the operation. The increase of depth was the greatest in patients with a flat chamber and in elderly patients. The central chamber depth decreased gradually after the operation (from 2.82 +/- 0.05 mm preoperatively to 1.95 +/- 0.13 mm 4 months postoperatively). The number of vitreous prolapse cases rose from 68 to 87.5% in 4 months. These altered chamber depths were observed to bear no relation to postoperative corneal oedema (neither of parenchyma nor of epithelium), intraocular pressure, or bleeding into the chamber.