If you're about to have cataract surgery, put this in your eyes regularly.

A study found that if you are planning to undergo ophthalmic surgery, such as cataract surgery or corneal refractive surgery, you should actively manage dry eye. Dry eyes reduce the predictive accuracy of corneal curvature measurements, leading to a poor postoperative prognosis. Regular use of artificial tears can improve dry eye.

 

Professor Kim Dong-hyun's team at Korea University Anam Hospital conducted a study to determine whether dry eye syndrome alters corneal curvature. Corneal curvature is a crucial measurement for predicting outcomes in cataract and refractive surgery. Higher variability in these measurements can reduce surgical accuracy and potentially compromise postoperative visual prognosis.

From March to November 2023, the research team measured and analyzed corneal curvature values ​​twice using the 'IOLMaster 700', a cutting-edge ocular measurement device mainly used in clinical settings, on 60 patients scheduled for cataract surgery.

 

As a result, the higher the corneal curvature variability, the more severe the dry eye. The group with high variability (corneal curvature error of 0.25 D or more) had a shorter tear film breakup time and a higher corneal staining score than the group with low variability (corneal curvature error of less than 0.25 D). A shorter tear film breakup time indicates lower tear film stability, and a higher corneal staining score indicates a higher degree of corneal damage and thus more severe dry eye. The group with a corneal curvature error of 0.25 D or more had an average tear film breakup time of 3.1 seconds and an average corneal staining score, which measures the degree of corneal damage, of 1.1 points, while the group with a corneal curvature error of less than 0.25 D had an average of 4.0 seconds and 0.6 points, respectively.

 

Professor Kim Dong-hyun said, “The more severe the dry eye, the greater the possibility of errors in predicting refractive values ​​after ophthalmic surgery. Therefore, it is essential for patients scheduled for ophthalmic surgery to manage dry eye before surgery.” He added, “Through future research, we plan to seek out optimized methods to effectively manage dry eye before cataract surgery or refractive surgery.”

 

Methods known to help alleviate dry eye include: ▲regularly applying artificial tears, ▲applying warm compresses to the eyes, ▲cleaning the eyelids, and ▲looking into the distance every 20 minutes when using digital devices.

 

Meanwhile, the results of this study were recently published in the world-renowned international academic journal 'Scientific Reports'.

 

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If you are preparing for cataract surgery

I guess I need to be careful about dry eye too.

 

I also have dry eyes

Put in artificial tears every day

I definitely need to refer to this helpful method