Intraocular pressure change after sutureless phacoemulsification and foldable posterior chamber lens implantation.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effect on intraocular pressure (IOP) of sutureless scleral and corneal tunnel Kelman phacoemulsification (KPE) with foldable posterior chamber intraocular lens (IOL) implantation.


METHODS
Jules Stein Eye Institute, Los Angeles, California, USA.


METHODS
Preoperative and postoperative (1 and 6 weeks and 6 to 8 months) IOP measurements of 385 consecutive eyes having uneventful phacoemulsification and foldable posterior chamber IOL implantation were reviewed retrospectively. A subset of 193 eyes for which no IOP measurements were missing at any follow-up were analyzed separately.


RESULTS
Mean preoperative IOP was 15.8 mm Hg +/- 0.2 (+/- SE). It dropped postoperatively by 1.3 +/- 0.2 mm Hg at 1 week (P < .001), 2.5 +/- 0.2 mm Hg at 6 weeks (P < .001), and 2.2 +/- 0.2 mm Hg at 6 to 8 months (P < .001). Mean preoperative IOP for the subset without missing data was 16.0 +/- 0.3 mm Hg. It decreased by 1.1 +/- 0.3 mm Hg at 1 week (P < .001), 2.3 +/- 0.2 mm Hg at 6 weeks (P < .001), and 2.2 +/- 0.2 mm Hg at 6 to 8 months (P < .001). Wound construction (scleral versus corneal tunnel), anesthesia type (topical versus posterior orbital injection), the eye operated on, and patient age and sex did not significantly influence the postoperative pressure change. Patients with a preoperative diagnosis of glaucoma had significantly higher 1 week postoperative IOPs; however, the differences were statistically insignificant at 6 weeks and 6 to 8 months.


CONCLUSIONS
Sutureless KPE with foldable posterior chamber IOL implantation lowered IOP by 1.1 to 2.5 mm Hg for the 6 months immediately following surgery. Glaucoma patients had a statistically significant initial rise in IOP at 1 week.
Tong
J T
JT
Jules Stein Eye Institute, Los Angeles, California 90095-7002, USA.
Miller
K M
KM
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007429:Intraocular Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D019654:Lens Implantation, Intraocular; D007910:Lenses, Intraocular; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018918:Phacoemulsification / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012826:Silicone Elastomers; D013536:Suture Techniques
D012826:Silicone Elastomers