Combined surgery and sequential surgery comprising phacoemulsification, pars plana vitrectomy, and intraocular lens implantation - Comparison of clinical outcomes

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of combined phacoemulsification, pars plana vitrectomy (PPV), and intraocular lens (IOL) implantation in diabetic and nondiabetic patients and compare the clinical results with those of sequential surgery. Setting: Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea. Methods: The results of combined phacoemulsification, PPV, and IOL implantation in 52 patients (52 eyes) were retrospectively analyzed. The main outcome measures were preoperative and postoperative best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), postoperative BCVA of 20/40 or better, and intraoperative and postoperative complications. Combined surgery and sequential surgery were also compared using the same outcome measures. Results: Postoperatively, the BCVA was better in 44 eyes (84.6%); 12 eyes (23.1 %) achieved a BCVA of 20/40 or better. Postoperative complications consisted of a transient intraocular pressure increase in 29 eyes (55.8%), hyphema in 10 (19.2%), neovascular glaucoma in 8 (15.4%), anterior chamber fibrin exudation in 7 (13.5%), vitreous hemorrhage in 7 (13.5%), retinal detachment in 3 (5.8%), and posterior capsule opacification in 1 (1.9%). In the diabetic patients, postoperative visual outcomes between the combined-surgery group and the sequential-surgery group were not significantly different; however, neovascular glaucoma occurred only in the combined-surgery group. Other complications were not different between the combined-surgery group and the sequential-surgery group. In the nondiabetic patients, the postoperative visual outcomes and complications between the 2 groups were not significantly different. Conclusion: Combined phacoemulsification, PPV, and IOL implantation was safe and effective in selected patients, with the clinical outcomes comparable to those of sequential surgery. (C) 2002 ASCRS and ESCRS.