Postoperative inflammation after lens epithelial cell removal: 2 year results

To evaluate the influence on postoperative inflammation of lens epithelial cell (LEC) removal after phacoemulsification.

Department of Ophthalmology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.

This randomized prospective single-surgeon study comprised 60 patients with senile cataract only. After a temporal clear corneal incision was made and phacoemulsification performed, no LECs were removed in Group A, LECs in the nasal half were removed in Group B, and LECs were removed from the entire anterior capsule in Group C. The LECs were removed with a Rentsch capsule curette (Geuder). In all eyes, a foldable hydrogel intraocular lens (Hydroview, Bausch & Lomb) was implanted. Anterior chamber flare was evaluated through dilated pupils in a double-masked fashion using a Kowa FC-1000 laser flare-cell meter (LFCM). Measurements were done preoperatively as well as 1, 3, 7, 14, and 28 days and 3, 6, 12, and 24 months postoperatively.

In all 3 groups, the flare and cell values increased on the first postoperative day followed by a successive decrease thereafter. One month after surgery, the blood-aqueous barrier (BAB) was nearly restored in all groups. Between the first and fourth week, the flare values in Groups B and C were slightly lower than in Group A; however, mean flare and cell values among groups were not statistically significantly different at any measurement.

The removal of LECs from the anterior capsule with a Rentsch curette did not influence postoperative BAB changes detected using an LFCM.