A recent retrospective study analyzed the visual outcomes as well as the rate of intraoperative complications of phacoemulsification surgery after prior pars plana vitrectomy (PPV).

Eyes that had undergone PPV have a higher risk of intraoperative and postoperative complications, according to a new study. This is a result of both the original disease that led to the PPV and the consequences of the vitrectomy itself.²

Researchers looked at eyes that underwent phaco and classified them as either as vitrectomized (prior PPV group, n=2,221) or nonvitrectomized (reference group, n=136,533) depending on the vitreous state at the time of cataract surgery.

At 24 weeks post-op, eyes in the prior PPV group had a lower mean postoperative vision of 0.2 logMAR visual acuity (VA). There was also a higher rate of zonular dialysis and dropped nuclear fragments. Between the two groups, there was no difference in the rate of posterior capsule rupture.

Researchers also noted that the eyes with worse preoperative VA were from younger patients and had longer axial lengths than those in the nonvitrectomized group. Nevertheless, 60.8% of eyes in the PPV group achieved postoperative VA <0.30 logMAR in 12 weeks, a significant improvement.