Manual nucleofragmentation and endothelial cell loss.
OBJECTIVE
To compare corneal endothelial cell loss with two cataract surgery techniques: manual nucleofragmentation performed with the Keener nucleus divider and planned extracapsular extraction.


METHODS
Department of Ophthalmology "Memorial Cristóbal Garrigosa," Hospital de l'Esperança, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain.


METHODS
Contact specular microscopy was performed before and 8 weeks after surgery in 51 patients who had been prospectively randomized into 2 groups: 26 patients had manual nucleofragmentation (NF) with the Keener divider and 25, planned extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE). The analyzed parameters were preoperative and postoperative endothelial cell density and variations in cell size (polymegethism) and cell shape (pleomorphism). The results were compared and statistically analyzed.


RESULTS
The mean percentage of endothelial cell loss in the NF group was 11.08% and in the ECCE group, 9.86%. This difference was not statistically significant. Postoperative variation in cell shape and size did not differ significantly between the two groups and was fairly constant.


CONCLUSIONS
The percentage of endothelial cell loss that occurred with manual NF using the Keener nucleus divider was similar to the one that occurs with other cataract surgery techniques. The small variation detected in postoperative endothelial morphology suggests that this endothelial cell population is stable.
Matheu
A
A
Department of Ophthalmology, Esperanza Hospital, Barcelona, Spain.
Castilla
M
M
Duch
F
F
Martí
M
M
Lillo
J
J
Gil
M
M
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002387:Cataract Extraction / Q000379:methods*; D002452:Cell Count; D048429:Cell Size; D004728:Endothelium, Corneal / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007907:Lens Nucleus, Crystalline / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies