Cataract Surgery and Aqueous Humor pH Changes

Purpose: To compare aqueous humor pH changes during femtosecond (FS) laser-assisted cataract surgery with conventional cataract surgery. Results: The mean pH was 6.53 ± 0.09 (range 6.42-6.70) and 7.42 ± 0.07 (range 7.28-7.48) in Groups 1 and 2, respectively. Differences between groups in this parameter were statistically significant (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Photo disruption process in the femtosecond laser assisted cataract surgery lead to an acidic shift of the aqueous humor pH, as a result of the transformation of carbon dioxide to carbonic acid, in comparison with conventional phacoemulsification surgery. Further analysis of femtosecond laser assisted cataract surgery is necessary. Materials and methods: 29 eyes of 29 patients that underwent cataract surgery were studied. Group 1 included 15 eyes operated with a FS platform (Catalyst, Abbott Medical Optics) and Group 2 included 14 eyes that were operated with conventional phacoemulsification. Aqueous humor samples (0.1-0.15 ml) were collected through a paracentesis from each patient after nucleus fragmentation in Group 1 and after corneal incisions before the injection of viscoelastic in Group 2 and analyzed with a pH-meter.