Background: Exfoliation syndrome (XFS), which is associated with increased surgical complications during phacoemulsification, has a relatively high incidence in Greece. Multiannual surgical experience in XFS patients has led to the clinical observation that hydrodissection occurs more easily in XFS patients.
Objective: To compare the ease of hydrodissection between cataract patients with and those without XFS.
Methods: One hundred and fifteen patients with senile cataract were included in the study. Forty-two of them had XFS. All patients underwent uneventful phacoemulsification by the same surgeon. For hydrodissection, three 1-mL insulin syringes were filled with 0.5 mL balanced salt solution (BSS). Sequentially, each one was quickly and continuously injected underneath the 3, 6, and 9 o'clock positions of the anterior lens capsule. If lens mobilization was achieved with this procedure, hydrodissection was characterized as "easy."
Results: The two groups were matched for age, gender, the biomicroscopic type of cataract, and the presence of diabetes mellitus. Glaucoma occurred more often among the XFS patients (p = 0.002). In 39 of the 42 exfoliation patients (92.8%), "easy" hydrodissection was recorded. In the control group, the corresponding number was 47 out of 73 (64.3%). The two groups differed significantly (p = 0.001).
Conclusions: Hydrodissection was more easily performed on the XFS patients than on the controls. This finding could be related to the extensive ultrastructural subepithelial alterations of the anterior lens capsule in XFS, as recently described in electron microscopy studies. We suggest that less BSS can be used for hydrodissection in XFS patients during phacoemulsification.
Keywords: Exfoliation syndrome; Hydrodissection; Phacoemulsification; Senile cataract.
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