Visual outcomes and risk factors of uveitis cataract eyes after phacoemulsification and manual small-incision cataract surgery

Purpose :To examine the visual outcomes and risk factors of uveitis cataract eyes after phacoemulsification and manual small-incision cataract surgery (MSICS). Setting: Tertiary-care eye hospital in southern India. Design: Retrospective interventional case series. Methods: Of the uveitis eyes operated for cataract surgery between 2017 and 2020, eyes with a minimum of 6 months postoperative follow-up were included. Eyes with ocular trauma, lens subluxation, lens-induced uveitis, or retinal detachment-induced uveitis were excluded. Demography, visual acuity, intraoperative and postoperative records, and surgical outcomes were analyzed. Results:191 eyes of 191 patients with a mean age of 51.7 +/- 14.4 years were included. Phacoemulsification was performed in 134 eyes, and 57 eyes underwent MSICS. Synechiolysis and pupil-expanding maneuvers were required in 74 eyes (38.7%). No differences were noted in the rates of complications between phacoemulsification and MSICS eyes, except at 1 year, where higher rates of posterior capsular opacification and vitritis were noted in MSICS eyes (P = .018). The visual outcomes of eyes that underwent MSICS and phacoemulsification were comparable (P = .463). In 12 eyes (13.5%), improvement in vision was not significant. Conclusions: This study shows phacoemulsification may be a preferred technique in uveitis cataracts, given the lesser incidence of postoperative complications. Patients should be counseled for realistic expectations. Copyright (c) 2023 Published by Wolters Kluwer on behalf of ASCRS and ESCRS.