Incidence of aphakic macular oedema: A prospective study

Abstract

A prospective angiographic study of 77 aphakic eyes demonstrated cystoid macular edema in 36 eyes (46.7%) 6 to 7 wk postoperatively. This subsequently resolved in 16 eyes, improved in eight, and was no better or worse in five (eight patients failed to return for followup). Of those patients with cystoid edema, 16.6% had a visual acuity of less than 6/12 at the time of the original examination; this was reduced to 13.8% at the time of the followup study. The mean visual acuity of the group with edema improved from 6/9 to 6/7.5 between the two examinations compared with 6/6 in the remaining 53.3% without edema. Preoperative ocular or general disease, specific surgical technique, and vitreous loss were not shown to be associated with macular edema. However, there was some indication that intraocular inflammation predisposed to macular edema.