[Changes in corneal nerve fibers after microinvasive cataract surgery (a preliminary report)]

Potential changes in corneal nerve fibers (CNF) induced by cataract phacoemulsification remain insufficiently studied. The need for research in this direction is dictated by a number of circumstances: introduction of corneal confocal microscopy into clinical practice, the need for phaco surgery in the presence of corneal changes of various genesis, the possible negative impact of laser radiation during hybrid (femtosecond laser-assisted) phacoemulsification.

To assess the changes in CNF after various methods of microinvasive cataract surgery.

The studies were conducted in patients aged 50 to 60 years who underwent standard ultrasound and hybrid phacoemulsification; the patients were respectively divided into two groups (30 surgeries each). The algorithm for assessing the state of CNF involved laser confocal microscopy using original software. To quantify the state of the nerves, two coefficients were used: CNF orientation anisotropy (KΔL) and CNF orientation symmetry (K_sym).

Regardless of the surgery technique, tendencies were noted for the orientation anisotropy coefficient to decrease and the orientation symmetry coefficient to increase, which are conditionally comparable with previously identified age-related changes in CNF. After hybrid phacoemulsification, a decrease in the orientation anisotropy coefficient 2-2.5 months after the intervention turned out to be statistically less significant compared to the standard ultrasound technique.

Further research should be aimed at analyzing the long-term results of both microinvasive phacosurgery techniques and the «classical» extracapsular cataract extraction, which remains the method of choice in a number of clinical situations.