Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Ophthalmology, Sarawak General Hospital, Kuching, Malaysia
  • 2 Department of Ophthalmology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Asia Pac J Ophthalmol (Phila), 2017;6(5):429-434.
PMID: 28379650 DOI: 10.22608/APO.2016198

Abstract

PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of postoperative eye patching on clear corneal incision architecture in phacoemulsification.

DESIGN: A single-center, randomized controlled trial.

METHODS: A total of 132 patients with uncomplicated phacoemulsification were randomly allocated to the intervention or control group. The intervention group received postoperative eye patching for approximately 18 hours, whereas the control group received eye shield. The clear corneal incision architecture was examined postoperatively at 2 hours, 1 day, and 7 days after surgery using optical coherence tomography.

RESULTS: Epithelial gaping was significantly reduced on postoperative day 1 in the intervention group (52.4%) compared with control (74.2%) (P = 0.01). No differences were found for other architectural defects. Descemet membrane detachment was associated with lower intraocular pressure on postoperative day 7 (P = 0.02). Presence of underlying diabetes mellitus did not seem to influence architectural defects.

CONCLUSIONS: Postoperative eye patching facilitated epithelial healing and reduced the occurrence of epithelial gaping on postoperative day 1. It may play a role in protecting and improving corneal wounds during the critical immediate postoperative period.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.