Effects of two ophthalmic viscoelastic devices on the corneal endothelium after phacoemulsificatio
Michelle Doronila Lingao, MD, Harvey Siy Uy, MD
Objective
This study compared the effects of Discovisc (DV) and Amvisc Plus (AP) on the corneal endothelium of patients after phacoemulsification cataract surgery.
Methods
Forty eyes of 36 adult patients were enrolled in this randomized, doublemasked clinical trial. They were randomly assigned to receive either DV or AP during phacoemulsification. Both the patients and the evaluators were masked as to which viscoelastic was used during the surgery. The main outcome measures were endothelial-cell loss after surgery, intraocular pressures (IOP), and change in corneal thickness. Differences between the two groups were analyzed statistically.
Results
The mean endothelial-cell loss was 205.5 (9.79%) in the DV group and 450 (18.10%) in the AP group. There was significantly greater endothelial-cell loss among patients who received AP (p = 0.01). The mean postoperative corneal thickness and IOP were similar for both groups.
Conclusions
The use of DV resulted in less endothelial-cell loss compared with AP after uncomplicated phacoemulsification in normal eyes. DV, therefore, provided better protection of the corneal endothelium during cataract surgery.
Keywords: Ophthalmic viscoelastic device, Phacoemulsification, Endothelial-cell count, Intraocular pressure, Corneal thickness