Evaluation of Macular Vascular Density Changes Following Phacoemulsification by Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography

Background: One of the most common illnesses, diabetes mellitus (DM), affects 425 million people globally and is becoming more and more common every day. Many visual problems, including glaucoma, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, and ocular surface diseases, can result from diabetes mellitus. Aim and objectives: Assessing the retinal vascular alterations that may occur in diabetes patients following uneventful phacoemulsification surgery and contrasting them, if any, with potential changes in nondiabetic people. Patients and methods: The Al-Azhar University Hospital's ophthalmology department conducted the study. Twenty eyes from diabetic patients and 20 eyes from nondiabetics were used in the study; they were chosen from the Al-Azhar University Hospitals' outpatient ophthalmic clinics (Al-Husain and Bab-ElShearyia). Results: There were no significant variations observed in the A circulatory Index (AI), Foveal Avascular Zone (FAZ) area, Superficial Capillary Plexus (SCP) artery density, or Deep Capillary Plexus (DCP) between diabetes and nondiabetic individuals after surgery. The data indicate that there is no noticeable distinction in these attributes between people with diabetes and those without it after undergoing surgery. Conclusion: No changes in macular vessel density and increase in central macular thickness occurs after uneventful phacoemulsification either in diabetic or in nondiabetic patients; the range of increased central macular thickness is more in diabetic patients, especially in patients who already have higher central macular thickness or higher grade of diabetic retinopathy initially.