Purpose: To check if optical biometry can detect eventual corneal power (Km) and axial length (AL) cataract surgery-related changes that could influence the refractive outcome.
Methods: Patients scheduled for sequential bilateral cataract surgery between January and September 2017 were included in the present study. One hundred ninety-six eyes of 98 patients (48 males) were selected. Before surgery of the first eye, patients underwent a complete ophthalmic examination, including IOLMaster biometry; the same evaluations were repeated in both eyes the day before the fellow eye cataract surgery, performed at least 2 months after the first one. The differences in Km and AL in the first operated eyes were evaluated, and the fellow eyes were used as controls.
Results: Km differences in the operated eyes ranged from -1.97 to +0.98 diopter (D) (mean = -0.02 ± 0.36 D) (P = 0.89); in the nonoperated eyes they ranged from -0.6 to +0.7 D (mean = 0 ± 0.20 D) (P = 0.91). The AL differences (pseudophakic option) in the operated eyes ranged from -0.35 to +0.15 mm (mean = -0.10 ± 0.08 mm) (P < 0.001); with the aphakic option they ranged from -0.24 to + 0.26 mm (mean = 0.01 ± 0.08 mm) (P= 0.38). In the nonoperated eyes, the AL differences ranged from -0.04 to +0.06 mm (mean= 0 ± 0.02 mm) (P = 0.02).
Conclusions: The modern phaco-technique seems not to induce changes in Km and AL, supporting the hypothesis that the differences in AL are due to an incorrect estimation in pseudophakic eyes.
Translational relevance: The results of our study may improve the AL measurements in pseudophakic eyes.
Keywords: axial length; cataract surgery; corneal power; partial coherence interferometry.