Is Optic Nerve Head Morphology Affected By Cataract Surgery?

To investigate the effect of uncomplicated cataract surgery on optic nerve head (ONH) morphology using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT)

Department of Ophthalmology, Bülent Ecevit University, Zonguldak, TURKEY

Thirty-two cataract patients who had uneventful cataract surgery were included in this study. Evaluation of IOP and SD-OCT imaging of ONH were performed before and 1 month after the surgery. IOP, retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT), Bruch membrane opening-minimum rim width (BMO-MRW), lamina cribrosa depth (LCD), and lamina cribrosa tissue thickness (LCTT) were measured.

There were statistically significant increases in RNFLT (from 93.2 ± 11.8 to 95.8 ± 11.1 µ, p=0.005) and BMO-MRW (from 435.7 ± 78.3 to 465.4 ± 116.2 µ, p=0.042) while a decrease in IOP (from 16.9 ± 2.8 to 15.2 ± 2.1 mmHg, p<0.001) was observed after cataract surgery. No significant changes were observed in both LCD and LCTT after the cataract surgery (p=0.148 and p=0.249, respectively). The amount of decrease in IOP affects the amount of increase in RNFLT (r: -0.985, p<0.001) but not in BMO-MRW (r: -0.441, p<0.208).

Uneventful cataract surgery results in an increase in both RNFLT and BMO-MRW and a decrease in IOP, while no significant changes were observed in either LCD or LCTT. Our results imply that RNFLT is more vulnerable than BMO-MRW, LCD, or LCTT to IOP changes that result from cataract surgery.