Cataract is one of the most frequent side effects on patients who undergo macular hole surgery. For some time now, specialists already indicate that multiple surgical procedure to correct the diseases.

Now, the simultaneous treatment of macular hole and cataract has received scientific approval after a study by the University of São Paulo (USP), campus of Ribeirão Preto (SP), which proved the effectiveness of the technique.

Details on research results and the benefits of this approval – for doctors, health institutions, the Brazilian Unified Health System, and the patient – follow below.

The research

Researchers divided 65 patients with macular hole in two groups. The first one, of 33 people, underwent the multiple surgery with both techniques. The other group, with 32 patients, underwent a single procedure of cataract correction after the first surgery.

This  is the first prospective study in the world to evaluate the multiple surgeries in a single intervention.

Results

Twenty-seven patients who underwent only the macula correction surgery had cataract afterwards. Because of that, they needed a new surgery in less than one year. In general, they presented significant worsening in vision.

Patients from the first group improved their visual acuity, similar to those who underwent sequential surgery.

The results demonstrate effectiveness of joining both techniques in a single procedure.

Benefits

In most cases, cataract occurs only a few months after the macula surgery. Therefore, the multiple procedure, joining both techniques, is advantageous to doctors, hospitals, the Brazilian Unified Health System and the patient.

Offering a safer treatment, cost and time reduction and less suffering of the patient are some remarkable advantages.

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