Patients with Macular Degeneration Benefit from Cataract Surgery

British eye surgeons have found that patients with age-related macular degeneration who undergo cataract surgery

experience significant improvements in quality of life and visual function.
Surgeons from The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh prospectively studied 187 patients who presented to their centers between 1996 and 1999. Of this group, 41 patients had age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) but had no cataract surgery, 90 patients had ARMD and underwent cataract surgery, and 56 patients did not have ARMD but underwent surgery.
From baseline to 3- to 5-month follow-up, ARMD patients who underwent cataract surgery showed significant improvements in many quality-of-life issues, most visual function tests, and in the final VF-14 score. ARMD patients who did not undergo surgery showed no significant changes from baseline.
Cataract surgery is justified and brings significant visual function and subjective benefits to patients with mild and moderate degrees of ARMD, the researchers state.
While the research team found it reassuring that no surgical patients progressed to the severe wet form of ARMD, they suggest a longer follow-up period would be desirable to quantify the risks of cataract surgery in ARMD patients. Dr. Tien Yin Wong, a retinal specialist, from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, agrees and points out that existing reports give conflicting information on the risk of ARMD progression with cataract surgery.