[Corneal endothelial cell damage associated with pars plana vitrectomy].

We performed a prospective study of corneal endothelial damage associated with pars plana vitrectomy in 51 eyes of 46 patients. The corneal endothelium was examined with a specular microscope preoperatively and three months postoperatively. The mean endothelial cell loss for 51 eyes was 11.54%. The 51 eyes were divided into three groups, and the mean cell loss was 25.85% in the pars plana lensectomy (including anterior capsule removal) combined group, 7.53% in the phacoemulsification combined group, and 1.91% in the phakic group. The corneal epithelium removal did not affected the cell loss. The cell loss for the phacoemulsification combined group did not differ significantly from that for the control group (6 eyes received only phacoemulsification). In the pars plana lensectomy combined group the cell loss was related significantly with gas tamponade duration. This study suggests that we must note the endothelial cell damage in vitrectomy-pars plana lensectomy combined with gas tamponade.