Posterior Vitreous Detachment After Cataract Surgery In Eyes With High Myopia

To compare the progression of posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) after cataract surgery between eyes with and without high myopia.

Hayashi Eye Hospital, Fukuoka, Japan

Eighty eyes of 80 patients with high myopia and 160 eyes of 160 patients without high myopia scheduled for cataract surgery were recruited. PVD status was examined using swept-source optical coherence tomography at 2 days postoperatively (baseline), and 3, 6, and 12 months post-baseline, and classified into 5 stages: 0 (no PVD), stage 1 (paramacular PVD), stage 2 (perifoveal PVD), stage 3 (peripapillary PVD), and stage 4 (complete PVD). The PVD stage and incidence of progression to complete PVD were compared between groups.

The mean PVD stage did not differ significantly between groups at baseline or 3 months post-baseline, but was significantly more progressed in the high myopia group than in the non-high myopia group at 6 and 12 months post-baseline (P≤ 0.0201). The Kaplan-Meier survival rate for complete PVD was significantly lower in the high myopia group (P= 0.0129). After adjusting for age, sex, and the baseline PVD stage, the hazard ratio for complete PVD was 1.68-fold higher in the high myopia group than in the non- high myopia group (P= 0.0326, 95% confidence interval 1.04 - 2.70).

After cataract surgery, PVD progressed significantly faster in eyes with high myopia than in eyes without high myopia, and the relative risk for complete PVD was 1.68-fold higher in eyes with high myopia, suggesting that highly myopic eyes are at considerably high risk for retinal disease postoperatively.