Safety of hydroimplantation in cataract surgery in patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome

AIM:To evaluate the safety of hydroimplantation in cataract surgery in patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome.METHODS:This prospective randomized study comprised 100 eyes of 100 consecutive patients who underwent cataract surgery and implantation of foldable intraocular lens(IOL). Each eye was assigned to group 1 or group 2. Hydroimplantation without using viscoelastic agent as group 1(n=50), and hydroxypropylmethylcellulose(Eyevisc, Biotech, India) was used in group 2(n=50). RESULTS:There were no statistically significant differences in central corneal thickness(CCT) and corneal endothelial cell count(ECC) between both groups at each visit and percentage change in CCT and ECC(P>0.05). The mean intraocular pressure(IOP) at postoperative 5h increased statistically significantly in group 2(P<0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in IOP between two groups, before and after surgery excluding the 24 h postoperative IOP, but patients in group 2 had higher IOP than that in the group 1 at 24 h after surgery(P=0.035). No case in either group experienced posterior capsular rupture, or zonular dialysis. Fixation of the globe during IOL implantation was better in group 1 than that in group 2.CONCLUSION:Hydroimplantation has advantages in terms of IOP changes and duration of the surgery and seems to be safe in patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome.