Background: Measuring anterior chamber depth is important in ophthalmologic practice for two reasons, i.e. a shallow chamber is a risk factor for primary angle-closure glaucoma, and planning cataract surgery, anterior chamber depth (ACD) needs to be accurately determined to calculate the power of the intra-ocular lens to be implanted.
Objective: To evaluate the changes of the intraocular pressure and anterior chamber depth by using Pentacam biometry system, after phacoemulsification in non-glaucomatous patients.
Patients and Methods: This study was carried out on 100 eyes of 100 patients attended the outpatient clinic of the Ophthalmology Department at Al-Azhar University Hospital (Cairo) from October 2018 to October 2020. Patients underwent cataract extraction by phacoemulsification. The Pentacam was used for measurement of anterior chamber depth before and after surgery.
Results: The age of cases group ranged 41 to 81 years with a mean of 62.70 years. They were 39 males and 61 females. ACD of the studied patients ranged from 2.5 to 4.7 mm with a mean of 3.19 mm preoperatively, with significant increase in ACD 1 week, 1 month and 3 months postoperatively. IOP of the studied patients ranged from 13.0 to 22.0 mmHg with a mean of 15.28 mmHg preoperatively, with significant reduction in IOP 1week, 1month and 3months postoperatively.
Conclusion: Intraocular pressure significantly decreased after cataract surgery. Moreover, patients with ocular hypertension, open-angle glaucoma, and narrow-angle glaucoma may benefit from cataract extraction.