Effect of cataract surgery on the progression of diabetic retinopathy

Abstract

Diabetic retinopathy progressed after cataract surgery. The presence of preoperative macular edema and poor renal function increased the progression of retinopathy postoperatively.

Adherence to diabetic eye examination guidelines in Australia: the National Eye Health Survey

“…Asymmetric progression of NPDR in the operated eye has been shown in many 757;764 but not all 760;761;763;765 studies. In one study 764 , DR progression occurred in 85% of operated eyes compared to only 15% of non-operated eyes (Level III-2 evidence). OCT appears to be a sensitive indicator of DME after cataract surgery; a 22% DME incidence was measured using OCT 766 .…”

Macular edema and visual outcome following cataract surgery in patients with diabetic retinopathy and controls

“…Postoperative CME is also suspected to be more frequent in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) than in those with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) [12]. Some authors have reported that retinopathy and macular alterations in diabetics are accelerated by cataract surgery [12][13][14], while others found that these complications are more likely due to the natural course of the diabetic disease [10,15,16]. However, it is often difficult to distinguish cystic macular changes caused by surgery from edema due to pre-existing diabetic maculopathy.…”

Changes in diabetic macular oedema after phacoemulsification surgery

“…It has been demonstrated that DR progresses in approximately 10-30% of patients after cataract surgery, 2,6,[13][14][15][16][17] although some authors have hypothesized that the progression of DR after cataract surgery is due simply to the natural course of the condition, and that the progression is independent of the surgery. [18][19][20][21] In these studies, the most significant predictor for progression of DR has been the status of the DR at the time of the cataract surgery.…”