title: Changes in corneal thickness following combined cataract and vitreous surgery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We investigated changes in corneal thickness following combined cataract and vitreous surgery and determined whether such changes could be used as a criterion for evaluating the invasiveness of combined surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  This retrospective, consecutive, comparative study examined 35 eyes that had undergone combined cataract and 23-gauge vitrectomy for epiretinal membrane (ERM) (18 eyes) and rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) (17 eyes). Corneal thickness was measured before, 1 day, 1 week, and 1 and 3 months after the surgery. Measurements were performed at the center and at points 3 mm superior, inferior, nasal and temporal to the center of the cornea.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In both groups, postoperative corneal thickness at all points showed a significant increase at 1 day after the surgery when compared with the preoperative measurements (p < 0.05, paired t test). At the center and inferior points, the mean corneal thickness in the RRD group was thicker than the mean of the ERM group at 1 day after surgery. With the exception of the inferior point, the postoperative data for both groups showed a significant increase in the corneal thickness at 1 week after surgery compared with the preoperative measurements. At 1 week after surgery, the mean corneal thickness in the RRD group at the center, inferior and temporal points was thicker than the mean of the ERM group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Corneal thickness measurements are useful for assessing the extent of surgical stress that follows combined cataract and vitreous surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishi-shinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-8461, Japan. akirawa@jikei.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishi-shinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-8461, Japan. tomohiroshibata@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shibata
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishi-shinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-8461, Japan. two-shina@s7.dion.ne.jp.
authors.forename: Hirotsugu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takashina
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishi-shinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-8461, Japan. tsuneh@jikei.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tsuneoka
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002387:Cataract Extraction / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003315:Cornea / Q000473:pathology*; D019773:Epiretinal Membrane / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011184:Postoperative Period; D012163:Retinal Detachment / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014821:Vitrectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*