Phacoemulsification Induced Transient Swelling of Corneal Descemet’s Endothelium Complex Imaged with Ultra-High Resolution Optical Coherence Tomography

Abstract

The DEC showed edematous thickening and different degrees of morphological changes after phacoemulsification. The DEC deformation and corneal edema recovered by one week after surgery, which indicated recovery of endothelial function. UHR-OCT is a useful tool to evaluate function of the DEC after phacoemulsification. Pre-operative DEC thickness may indicate the integrity of the endothelium and could be used for predicting endothelial cell loss after phacoemulsification.