Cataract surgery in retinitis pigmentosa patients

From the UCLA Retinitis Pigmentosa Registry, 30 patients with 54 aphakic eyes were studied in a retrospective analysis to evaluate the results of cataract surgery. Patients consisted of 19 men and 11 women, with an age range at the time of cataract surgery from 24 to 75 years (mean 47 years). After surgery all aphakic eyes showed some improvement in visual acuity; 83% of eyes demonstrated improvement in visual acuity of at least two lines on the Snellen chart, and 52% of eyes achieved a visual acuity of 20/50 or better. In all eyes, the postoperative visual field was unchanged when compared with the preoperative visual field. Subjectively, 83% of patients reported benefit from cataract surgery. Guidelines for the preoperative evaluation of retinitis pigmentosa (RP) patients with cataracts are presented.