The features of cataract surgery in a patient with Graves’ disease and endocrine ophthalmopathy

Abstract

After the phacoemulsification technique was implemented in ophthalmic practice surgeries to replace the clouded lens have become routine for ophthalmologists. Today, over half a million phacoemulsification surgeries are annually conducted in Russia. Cataract combined with endocrine ophthalmopathy poses a significant challenge for an operating surgeon because of the unusual anatomical presentation of the orbit and the eyeball, as well as the elevated intraocular pressure caused by edema of the orbital tissues (i.e., retrobulbar tissue and extraocular muscles) rather than by primary glaucoma. We analyze the features of surgical treatment of the cataract involving intraocular lens implantation in a patient with Graves’ disease and endocrine ophthalmopathy complicated by secondary ocular hypertension, optical neuropathy, and lagophthalmos. After restoring the euthyroid state and reducing the severity of endocrine ophthalmopathy, phacoemulsification was performed in both eyes, with an interval of 2 months. Neither intra- nor postoperative complications of the patients’ organ of vision were observed. The maximum corrected visual acuity achieved on both eyes was 0.4–0.5 in the Snellen eye chart.