A new study that was presented at the American Academy of Ophthalmology Virtual Meeting reveals that about 40% of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) patients were able to achieve a marked gain in visual acuity.
Researchers compared the visual outcomes and rate of intraoperative complications in patients with nAMD and control eyes that did not have nAMD that underwent phacoemulsification cataract surgery over a 15 year period.
The researchers at the UAMS Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute reviewed data from 154,967 eyes that underwent phacoemulsification cataract surgery between January 2000 and May 2015. The eyes were classified based upon whether they had the presence of absence of nAMD.
What the researchers found was that about 40% of patients with nAMD had a significant gain in postoperative vision after cataract surgery. However, these same patients had a higher risk for posterior capsular rupture as well as dropped lens fragments compared to the patients who did not have nAMD. Intravitreal anti-VEGF injections were also required within three months of surgery for more than half of the nAMD eyes.
