Effect of a pupillary light occluder on cystoid macular edema

A prospective, randomized study of 291 patients was performed to determine the effect of a pupillary light occluder on the incidence of angiographic cystoid macular edema (CME) in patients having extracapsular surgery with implantation of a posterior chamber lens. Patients were randomized preoperatively into two groups: those having surgery with and without a pupillary light occluder on the cornea. The occluder was placed on the cornea during suture placement, following the extracapsular lens extraction and intraocular lens implantation. Of the 291 patients, 198 had angiograms readable for the presence or absence of CME. The incidence of angiographic CME in patients with the occluder was 15.0%; in those without the occluder it was 12.5%. The difference was not statistically significant. The presence or absence of an occluder on the cornea during suture placement does not affect the incidence of angiographic CME or the visual results of these cases.