Choroidal neovascularization in highly myopic eyes after cataract surgery.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the incidence and characteristics of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) in patients with high myopia (>or=8 diopters) who underwent cataract surgery in the Department of Ophthalmology, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, or the Ohno Eye Clinic, Tokyo, between September 1991 and March 2000.


METHODS
The medical records of 35 patients (48 eyes) who underwent cataract surgery with phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation were studied retrospectively. The development of CNV over a 4-year follow-up period, and its characteristics were determined. All of the eyes had received a comprehensive ophthalmological examination, including best-corrected visual acuity measurements, anterior segment biomicroscopy, and a dilated fundus examination by stereoscopic observation.


RESULTS
CNV was found in six eyes (12.5%) of six patients. The mean interval between cataract surgery and the development of CNV was 34+/-17 months (range, 12-48 months). The CNV was subfoveal in all cases. The mean logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) after cataract surgery and before the appearance of CNV was 0.23+/-0.24, and 0.93+/-0.41 after the CNV appeared. This decrease was statistically significant (P=0.0008, paired Student t test). Subfoveal CNV developed more frequently in eyes when the fellow eye showed evidence of CNV preoperatively (40.0%) than in eyes when the fellow eye exhibited no evidence of CNV (9.3%).


CONCLUSIONS
CNV developed in 12.5% of patients with high myopia after cataract surgery. CNV tended to develop more frequently when the fellow eye had CNV.
Hayashi
Kengo
K
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
Ohno-Matsui
Kyoko
K
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan. k.ohno.oph@tmd.ac.jp.
Futagami
Soh
S
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
Ohno
Seiji
S
Ohno Eye Clinic, Higashikurume, Tokyo, Japan.
Tokoro
Takashi
T
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
Mochizuki
Manabu
M
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002386:Cataract / Q000150:complications*; D020256:Choroidal Neovascularization / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005654:Fundus Oculi; D006801:Humans; D019654:Lens Implantation, Intraocular / Q000009:adverse effects; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009216:Myopia / Q000150:complications*; D018918:Phacoemulsification / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014792:Visual Acuity