ASSESSMENT OF ANTERIOR CHAMBER ANGLE CHANGES AFTER PHACOEMULSIFICATION USING ULTRASOUND BIOMICROSCOPY

We aimed to evaluate the impact of cataract surgery on anterior chamber angle parameters with ultrasound biomicroscopy measurements.

Department of Ophthalmology of the Military Hospital, Tunis, Tunisia.

A prospective comparative study was conducted between January 2021 and June 2021. Forty eyes of 40 patients with no medical history nor ocular diseases, scheduled for cataract surgery, were included.The same experienced surgeon performed phacoemulsification with intraocular lens implantation using the Alcon Constellation Vision System device (Alcon,USA).We noted the patients' best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), the intraocular pressure (IOP), gonioscopy and fundus examination. We classified the cataract grade according to the lens opacities classification system III (LOCS III) scoring. Anterior segment imaging was performed on each eye using ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM, Aviso Lin-50; Quantel Medical).We measured biometric parameters of the anterior segment: angle opening distance (AOD 500), angle recess area (ARA 750) and trabecular iris space area (TISA 750).We compared all measurements preoperatively and three months postoperatively.

The mean age was 63.6±10.8(22 female and 18 male).The mean axial length was 23.28±0.70 mm.The mean stage of cataract was 2.46 ± 0.64. No remarkable peri- or postoperative complications were observed. The mean preoperative BCVA improved from 0.36 ± 0.02 to 0.68 ± 0.04 (p<0,05). All iridocorneal angle parameters (AOD 500, ARA 750, TISA750) were significantly larger at the three-month-postoperatively control (all p<0,05). Furthermore, significant reduction in IOP values was also noted (14.83 ± 1.7 vs 13.43 ± 1.50; p=0,028).

Cataract surgery can provide a significant decrease in IOP. It increases in the anterior segment angle parameters measured using UBM in the postoperative period.