Deepali Mittal¹, Balbir Singh², Paavan Kalra³, Anand Aggarwal¹*, Kamlinder Kaur¹, Chiman Lal¹, Indu Khosa¹, Divjot Kaur¹, Aman Kalia¹ and Akash¹

¹Department of Ophthalmology, Government Medical College, Patiala, India
²Member Legislative Assembly and Honorable Health Minister, Vidhan Sabha Punjab, Chandigarh, India
³Director, B R Kalra Eye Hospital, Yamunanagar, Haryana, India

*Corresponding Author: Anand Aggarwal, Cornea, Glaucoma and Refractive Surgery Services, Department of Ophthalmology, Government Medical College Patiala, Punjab 147001, India.

Received: June 05, 2025; Published: June 31, 2025

Abstract

Background: To evaluate the incidence of intraoperative complications and postoperative clinical outcomes following phacoemulsification in eyes with primary posterior polar cataract.

Study design: A prospective, observational study.

Methodology: 60 eyes of 43 patients with primary posterior polar cataract who underwent phacoemulsification cataract surgery over a period of 1 year, were observed for pre-operative morphological grading of posterior polar cataract (PPC) based on Vasavada classification system, the incidence of complications during the surgery (like posterior capsular rent (PCR), vitreous prolapse requiring anterior vitrectomy, nucleus or nuclear fragment drop, and aphakia) along with the special intraoperative techniques used to minimize those complications. The postoperative visual outcome achieved was also documented.

Results: Out of 60 eyes, 53 eyes (88.13%) had Grade 1 PPC with intact posterior capsule, and 7 eyes (11.8%) had Grade 2 PPC with pre-existing posterior capsule rent (PCR). The overall rate of PCR was 13.33% with rate of “on table” PCR being 3.33%. The special techniques used to prevent “on table” PCR were inside-out hydrodelineation, layer by layer phacoemulsification of nucleus and visco-dissection for epinucleus separation and removal. Vitrectomy was required in just 6.66% cases. Nucleus drop was not encountered in any case. No eye was left aphakic and intra-ocular lens was placed in the bag in 52 (86.66%) eyes and in the sulcus in 8 (13.33%) eyes . The post-operative best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) achieved was 6/9 or better at postoperative day 30 in 91.66% eyes overall.

Conclusion: PPC is a high-risk surgery due to inherent poor posterior capsule integrity resulting in the increased rate of complications as compared to other cataract morphologies and the use of special techniques during the surgery can reduce the incidence of these complications and help achieve good postoperative visual outcomes.

Keywords: Cataract; Phacoemulsification; Polar Cataract; Hydrodelineation

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Citation

Citation: Anand Aggarwal., et al. “Evaluation of Intra-Operative Complications and Post-Operative Visual Outcomes Following Phacoemulsification Cataract Surgery in Eyes with Primary Posterior Polar Cataract".Acta Scientific Ophthalmology 8.8 (2025): 20-27.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2025 Anand Aggarwal., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.