Postoperative follow up by dynamic light scattering: detection of inflammatory molecular changes in the cornea, the vitreous and the lens.
OBJECTIVE
To detect post-op molecular changes and inflammatory processes by dynamic light scattering (DLS) in eye segments. To develop DLS parameters which are appropriate for the control of post-op course after ophthalmologic surgery. METHODS, DESIGN: Three new DLS devices were tested in different post-op clinical settings such as pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PEX), cataract surgery and retinal surgery. In a second step DLS was used to detect molecular changes in the cornea of 6 patients after photo refractive keratectomy (PRK) and 16 patients after photo astigmatic refractive keratectomy (PARK).


RESULTS
In PEX-patients cataract surgery changed the DLS signals of the anterior chamber and the lens in a specific way compared to the pre-op situation. Cataract patients without PEX had more scattering particles post-op and retinal surgery modified the DLS signal of the vitreous. Furthermore it was shown that the length of the corneal scattering vector l correlated with the process of the corneal wound healing after PARK. One and three months after surgery the lengths of the scattering vectors had increased significantly but returned to pre-op values twelve months post-op.


CONCLUSIONS
The post-op transparency of eye segments such as the cornea, the vitreous and the anterior chamber depends primarily on the wound healing mechanisms. DLS seems to be a suitable method to control the corneal recovery after refractive surgery.


CONCLUSIONS
The length of the scattering vector l correlates well with the wound healing after refractive surgery. However DLS-signals seem to contain information about the molecular composition of tissue too. Therefore further research is needed to refine the interpretation of the DLS signals.
Fankhauser
Franz
F
Department of Ophthalmology, Städtisches Klinikum, Auenweg 38, D-06847 Dessau, Germany. franz.fankhauser@klinikum-dessau.de
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002386:Cataract / Q000503:physiopathology; D002387:Cataract Extraction; D003315:Cornea / Q000503:physiopathology*; D019781:Corneal Topography; D004867:Equipment Design; D017889:Exfoliation Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D053685:Laser Therapy; D054018:Lasers, Excimer; D007908:Lens, Crystalline / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009885:Ophthalmology / Q000295:instrumentation; D018903:Photorefractive Keratectomy; D011184:Postoperative Period; D012029:Refraction, Ocular; D012163:Retinal Detachment / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014785:Vision, Ocular; D014822:Vitreous Body / Q000503:physiopathology*