Optimization of surgical treatment of cataract in patients with diabetes mellitus

Aim. To compare different methods for surgical treatment of cataract in patients with diabetes melli-tus (DM) and substantiate the choice of its optimalmodality. Materials and methods. Analysis included data on 209 patients (221 eyes) treated from January 2008 to December 2009 in the Department ofRetinopathy and Ophthalmosurgey, Endocrinological Research Centre. Diabetic cataract was managed using UNIVERSAL-II, LEGACY EVEREST,and INFINITI phacoemulsifiers. Parameters studied included time of ultrasound (US) ex-posure, US power, and retinal characteristics in the earlypostoperative period. In addition, analysis included data on the location of lens opacity in 1047 patients (1897 eyes) with diabetic cataract. Results. Relatively low corrected and uncorrected visual acuity in the early postoperative period was attributable to concomitant DM-related retinalpathology. Analysis of lenticular opacity showed that it in the first place affected collagen fibers beneath the posterior capsule. The use of torsional USin INFINITI for cataract phacoemulsification produced almost 4-fold reduction in the exposure time of ocular tissues. As a result, the postoperativeoedema was significantly smaller than in patients undergoing combined treatment (AQUALASE hydromonitoring and OZIL ultrasound system). Conclusion. Combination of ultrasound and hydromonitoring phacoemulsification for the treatment of cataract in DM patients reduces exposure timeof ocular tissues and postoperative oedema which creates prerequisites for faster recovery of visual acuity after surgery. Functional results of surgicaltreatment of diabetic cataract can be further improved by early diagnosis of lens opacity and the use of US and hydromonitoring phacoemulsificationtechniques