J Korean Ophthalmol Soc.  2016 Jun;57(6):924-929. 10.3341/jkos.2016.57.6.924.

The Variation of Choroidal Thickness and Refractive Error after Cataract Surgery

• Roh HC
• Park CY
• Oh JH

• KMID: 2290494
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3341/jkos.2016.57.6.924

Abstract

PURPOSE
To evaluate the effect of cataract surgery on subfoveal choroidal thickness (SCT) and investigate the relationship between the variation of SCT and refractive error.
METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 47 patients (47 eyes) who underwent uneventful phacoemulsification cataract surgery from March 2012 to February 2014. SCTs were measured using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography performed before surgery and at 1 month, 3 months and 6 months postoperatively. We investigated the differences in target refraction (TR) and postoperative spherical equivalent (SE), intraocular pressure (IOP) and central macular thickness (CMT) at all follow-ups.
RESULTS
Compared with preoperative measurements, SCT showed a significant increase of 5.9 ± 13.3 µm at postoperative 1 month and 7.6 ± 18.1 µm at postoperative 3 months (p = 0.004 and p = 0.006, respectively), but no significant differences at postoperative 6 months (p = 0.104). The correlation between the variation of SCT and the differences in postoperative SE and TR were not significant at 1 month and 6 months, but were positively significant at 3 months (r = 0.310, p = 0.034). The variation of SCT showed no significant correlations with the postoperative change in IOP and CMT.
CONCLUSIONS
SCT significantly increased up to 3 months after cataract surgery. The variation of SCT may affect the postoperative refractive error.

Keyword

Cataract surgery; Choroidal thickness; Optical coherence tomography; Phacoemulsification; Refractive error

MeSH Terms

Cataract*
Choroid*
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Intraocular Pressure
Medical Records
Phacoemulsification
Refractive Errors*
Retrospective Studies
Tomography, Optical Coherence

Figure

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  Figure 1. Changes in subfoveal choroidal thickness after cataract surgery. The asterisks (*) indicate significant changes compared with preoperative values (paired t-test).

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  Figure 2. Scatterplots showing the correlation between difference in the postoperative spherical equivalent (SE) and target refraction (TR) and the change in subfoveal choroidal thickness (SCT). (A) At 1 month after surgery. (B) At 3 months after surgery. (C) At 6 months after surgery.

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  Figure 3. Scatterplots showing the correlation between post-operative changes in intraocular pressure (IOP) and subfoveal choroidal thickness (SCT). (A) At 1 month after surgery. (B) At 3 months after surgery. (C) At 6 months after surgery.

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  Figure 4. Scatterplots showing the correlation between post-operative changes in central macular thickness (CMT) and subfoveal choroidal thickness (SCT). (A) At 1 month after surgery. (B) At 3 months after surgery. (C) At 6 months after surgery.

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