Persisting corneal oedema following intracapsular cataract extraction

The purpose of this study was to reveal the frequency of persisting corneal oedema following intracapsular cataract extraction and at the same time to examine whether the survival rate after penetrating keratoplasty due to this diagnosis differs from the survival rate following penetrating keratoplasty due to primary Fuchs' endothelial dystrophy.

A series of 2455 eyes underwent intracapsular cataract extraction between January 1, 1986 and December 31, 1988, at the Department of Ophthalmology, Arhus University Hospital. The medical files were examined to study the frequency of persisting corneal oedema. Patients with persisting corneal oedema were offered penetrating keratoplasty and the survival rate following this procedure was calculated.

The frequency of pseudophakic persisting corneal oedema was 5.3% in the group of patients who underwent intracapsular cataract extraction. The survival of the following corneal transplantation was 54% after 2 years of follow-up. This is a low survival rate compared to the survival rate in primary Fuchs' endothelial dystrophy, but there is a similarity to this disease in a development of a slowly progressive oedema in 17% compared to 13% in primary Fuchs' endothelial dystrophy.

5.3% of a group of patients who underwent intracapsular cataract extraction developed persisting corneal oedema within a 5 to 7-year follow-up period. When these patients underwent penetrating keratoplasty the survival rate of the graft was 54% after 2 years of follow-up.