Incidence And Risk Factors For Berger’S Space Development After Uneventful Cataract Surgery: Evidence From Swept-Source Optical Coherence Tomography

To investigate the incidence and risk factors for the development of Berger’s space (BS) after uneventful phacoemulsification based on swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT).

Shanxi Eye Hospital affiliated with Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.

As a retrospective observational single-center study. Cataractous eyes captured using qualified SS-OCT images before and after uneventful phacoemulsification cataract surgery were included. 6 high-resolution cross-sectional anterior segment SS-OCT images at 30° intervals were used for BS data measurements. BS width was measured at three points on each scanned meridian line: the central point line aligned with the cornea vertex and two point lines at the pupil margin. 

BS was observed postoperatively in 44 eyes (44/223, 19.7%). 13 eyes (5.8%) with insufficient image quality, pupil dilation, or lack of preoperative image data were excluded from the study. 31 postoperative eyes (13.5%) of 30 patients were included in the final data analysis. Preoperatively, only 2 eyes (0.9%) were observed to have consistent BS in all 6 scanning directions. The smallest postoperative BS width was in the upper quadrant of the vertical meridian line (90°) with a mean value of 280 μm. The largest BS width was observed in the temporal and inferior quadrants, which were the opposite area of the main clear corneal incision (120°), with a mean value > 500 μm.

Uneven-width BS is observable after uneventful phacoemulsification. Locations with a much wider BS (indirect manifestation of Wieger zonular detachment) are predominantly located in the opposite direction to the main corneal incisions.