Introduction: Intumescent cataract with ocular hypertony is a medicosurgical emergency. The purpose of our study is to define the clinical and therapeutic particularities of these cataracts.
Material and methods: This retrospective study includes 40 consecutive patients with angle closure secondary to intumescent cataract. All patients were examined between 1st January 1998 and 30 October 2000.
Results: The patient population consisted of 28 women (70%) and 12 men ranging in age from 59 to 88 years (mean age: 78 years). Preoperative visual acuity was negative in 17% of cases and limited to light perception in 83% of cases. Ocular pressure varied from 25 to 68 mmHg. Patients underwent surgery one to 23 days after diagnosis. Surgical techniques consisted in extracapsular cataract extraction with (35%) and without (65%) intraocular lens. Preoperative complications were: vitreous loss in 20% of cases and expulsive haemorrhage in 2 cases (5%). Postoperative visual acuity improved in 70% of cases. COMMENT AND CONCLUSION: Intumescent cataract with ocular overpressure gives therapeutic problems, which can be prevented by a preoperative hypotony. Functional results of this study encouraged us to operate the intumescent cataract even if visual acuity is bad.