Analysis of specular photomicrograph with graph pen digitizer. II. Long-term results in cataract surgery.

Bilateral corneal endothelial photomicrographs of 90 cases, who underwent unilateral cataract extraction 5 years ago, were analyzed utilizing a specular microscopy and a graph pen digitizer. Data on surface areas of the corneal endothelium in each group of three different surgical procedures were compared mutually and with those of more recent cases. Mean cell areas in the cases of intracapsular lens extraction, planned extracapsular lens extraction and implantation of intracapsular lens extraction, planned extracapsular lens 604.5 +/- 210.6 micronm2 and 847.4 +/- 289.4 micronm2, respectively. In the IOL cases the mean cell are relatively small when the IOL ws implanted following extracapsular lens extraction. In the 18 cases who had the IOL implanted last year, the mean cell area was significantly smaller than in the previous IOL cases.