visual outcomes and complications of phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation

purpose: to evaluate the prevalence of concomitant systemic and ocular diseases in patients scheduled for phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation (pe+pc iol) and post surgical visual outcomes and complications in 1253 cases. methods: medical records of all patients of a private clinic who underwent pe+pc iol from 1999 to 2003 were reviewed. all operations were performed by a single surgeon (maj). results: among 1253 operated eyes, 95.9% had senile cataracts. mean age was 61 years and mean follow up was 20±12.5 months. incidence of systemic hypertension, diabetes mellitus (dm), ischemic heart disease, pseudoexfoliation syndrome (pxf), and glaucoma were 16%, 11.5%, 7.7%, 3.1%, and 2.7%, respectively. after the operation 71.9% and 90.4% of the eyes gained ucva and bcva of 20/40 or better, respectively. the most important intraoperative and postoperative complications were sterile uveitis (4.8%), vitreous loss (0.23%), endophthalmitis, cme, rd and, corneal decompensation each in one eye (0.08%). significant posterior capsule opacity requiring nd: yag capsulotomy occurred in 5.8% of the eyes. conclusion: pe+pc iol is a safe and effective procedure in patients with cataract. systemic hypertension and dm are important concomitant systemic disorders in this group of patients.