Treating uveitis with phaco

Phacoemulsification can increase visual acuity in uveitis patients, concluded a study published in the January issue of the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

Susan Lightman of Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, UK and colleagues conducted a retrospective medical record review of uveitis patients (n=101) undergoing phacoemulsification and intraocular lens (IOL) implantation.

Visual acuity was significantly improved (≥2 lines) for 64.4% and 71.3% of patients at first postop and final follow-up visits, respectively. Over six years’ follow-up, slightly more than half of patients doubled their visual angle; this was more prevalent among eyes with preop lesions on either the retina or optic nerve. At three months, postoperative uveitis was most likely to develop in female patients or those with significant perioperative posterior synechiae. Patients with postop uveitis were at increased risk of developing macular oedema.

Thus the team concluded that, although phacoemulsification tends to increase visual acuity in uveitis patients, those patients with macular or optic nerve lesions are more likely to lose visual acuity.