early macular changes after phacoemulsifcation ineyes with high myopia

Purpose: to evaluate macular changes after cataract surgery in eyes with high myopia. methods: this prospective cohort enrolled patients with high myopia (axial length ≥26 mm) who underwent phacoemulsification with intraocular lens implantation. spectral‑domain optical coherence tomography (oct) scans were obtained at baseline and 2 and 6 months after the operation. postoperative macular changes on oct scans were regarded as the main outcome measure. results: thirty‑four eyes of 31 patients with high myopia were included (age, 60 ± 10 years [mean ± sd]); of these, 14 patients (45.2%) were male. the mean axial length was 27.8 ± 1.5 mm. epiretinal membrane (one eye, 2.9%), lamellar hole (one eye, 2.9%), myopic foveoschisis (2 eyes, 5.9%), and vitreomacular traction associated with foveoschisis (one eye, 2.9%) were notable findings at baseline examination; no eye showed cystoid macular edema (cme) at this time. at the 2‑month examination, three eyes (8.8%) developed cme. at the 6‑month follow‑up, one eye with cme at 2 months improved, and a new case of cme (5.6%) was detected. the characteristics of epiretinal membrane, lamellar hole, vitreomacular traction, and foveoschisis did not change at the 2‑ and 6‑month examinations and no new cases occurred. conclusion: uncomplicated phacoemulsification had no significant effect on the prevalence or characteristics of pre‑existing macular abnormalities in eyes with high myopia up to 6 months of follow‑up. the incidence of cme 2 months after uncomplicated cataract surgery in eyes with high myopia was about 9%.