Comparison of the effect of AquaLase and NeoSoniX phacoemulsification on the corneal endothelium
Accepted 23 October 2007.
Purpose
To compare the extent of corneal endothelial cell loss and pachymetry changes in 2 age-based groups of patients who had cataract removal by AquaLase (Alcon) phacoemulsification in 1 eye and NeoSoniX (Alcon) phacoemulsification in the contralateral eye.
Setting
Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic.
Methods
This prospective clinical study comprised 28 patients younger than 80 years (Group A) and 28 patients 80 years or older (Group B) with bilateral cataract having lens removal using AquaLase in the right eye and NeoSoniX in the left eye. The nuclei were graded clinically on the basis of hardness. The endothelial cell count (ECC), pachymetry, and best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) were evaluated preoperatively and postoperatively. The mean ECC and pachymetry values (±SD) were calculated in each group, with differences between right and left eyes analyzed using the paired t test.
Results
In Group A, the differences in the postoperative changes in ECC and pachymetry between AquaLase and NeoSoniX were not statistically significant. In Group B, there were statistically significant differences in postoperative changes in ECC and pachymetry, with the results better in the AquaLase eyes. The BCVA immediately after surgery was better than preoperatively in all eyes.
Conclusion
The results suggest that AquaLase cataract extraction is safe for the endothelium, even in older patients with harder cataracts and a lower ECC count preoperatively.
From the Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
Corresponding author: Nada Jirásková, MD, PhD, Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital, Sokolska 581, 500 05 Hradec Králové, Czech Republic.
No author has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned.
Presented in part at the ASCRS Symposium on Cataract, IOL and Refractive Surgery, San Diego, California, USA, April 2007.
Supported in part by research project MZO 00179906 from the Ministry of Health, Prague, Czech Republic, and in part by a grant from Alcon, Fort Worth, Texas, USA.
ABSTRACT