Incidence of clinical and subclinical macular edema in patients submitted to phacoemulsification in a university health service

Introduction: The incidence of cystoid macular edema (CME) after cataract surgery varies substantially and depending on the diagnostic method used. In addition, other factors that influence the incidence of CME are the technique of surgery and the associated comorbidities. Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the incidence of EMC after uncomplicated phacoemulsification surgery, using the spectral domain optical coherence tomography (OCT). Methods: The incidence of sub-clinical and clinical CME was evaluated in 14 patients who underwent uncomplicated phacoemulsification surgery, using OCT before the surgical procedure and after seven and 28 days after it. The volunteers could not use a prostaglandin analogue or present any retinopathy that compromised visual acuity. Results: The incidence of clinically significant CME was 6.4%, however retinal thickening by OCT was observed in all patients in the fourth postoperative week. Regarding gender and laterality, the percentages were similar. Conclusion: In this study, we obtained a low incidence of EMC in patients assisted at this center, corroborating multicenter studies