Intraoperative complications of phacoemulsification in eyes with and without pseudoexfoliation

To determine the intraoperative complications in a large series of phacoemulsification procedures, including patients with and without pseudoexfoliation, excluding those with marked phacodonesis or lens subluxation.

Department of Ophthalmology, Carmel Medical Centre, Haifa, Israel.

This institutional case-control study included 1501 consecutive phacoemulsification procedures: 137 eyes with pseudoexfoliation and 1364 eyes without this condition. Baseline demographics and clinical factors were collected from the medical files. A comparative analysis of the incidence of intraoperative complications in eyes with or without pseudoexfoliation was calculated. Univariate analysis and multiple logistic regression were used to identify ocular factors that predicted intraoperative complications.

There was no significant difference (P>.05) in the rate of intraoperative complications between the pseudoexfoliation (5.8%) and control (4.0%) groups. There were no significant differences in the incidence of capsular breaks, vitreous loss, and zonular ruptures without vitreous loss in the 2 groups. Pseudoexfoliation did not confer a statistically higher risk for intraoperative complications (odds ratio 1.62, 95% confidence interval 0.74-3.55).

Phacoemulsification by experienced surgeons is safe in eyes with pseudoexfoliation without marked phacodonesis or lens subluxation.