Changes in Anterior Chamber Depth after Phacoemulsification in Pseudoexfoliative Eyes and their Effect on Accuracy of Intraocular Lens Power Calculation

OBJECTIVES: To compare anterior chamber depth (ACD) changes after phacoemulsification surgery in patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PEX) and normal patients using an anterior segment imaging method. Another aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of these changes on the accuracy of intraocular lens (IOL) power calculation and postoperative refraction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-two eyes of 22 patients with PEX and 30 eyes of 30 normal patients who underwent uneventful phacoemulsification surgery and IOL implantation were included in the study. The ACD of all patients was evaluated preoperatively and at 3 months postoperatively with the ALLEGRO Oculyzer (WaveLight® Oculyzer™ II, Alcon, Novartis)-Scheimpflug imaging system. RESULTS: The postoperative mean ACD values were significantly larger than the preoperative ACD values in both groups (p<0.001 for both groups). The pre- to postoperative change in ACD was 0.46±0.3 mm in the PEX group, which was a larger change than seen in the normal patients (0.12±0.1 mm) (p=0.04). The mean absolute errors (MAE) calculated with different IOL formulas (SRK/T, Haigis, Hoffer and Holladay 1 formulas) were comparable and no statistically significant difference was observed between the two groups (p=0.21). CONCLUSION: Phacoemulsification induces more significant ACD changes in patients with PEX compared to normal patients. However, the MAE did not differ significantly between the groups.