Choroidal thickness changes following cataract surgery in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus
Submission: 21 January 2026 | Acceptance: 19 April 2026 | Publication: 02 June 2026
Muhammad Abdullah
Haji Murad Trust Eye Hospital Gujranwala
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most frequent metabolic disorders worldwide and its prevalence has been increasing in adults in the last decades secondary to changes in lifestyle. Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a micro vascular complication while clinical and experimental data suggests that choroidal vascular abnormalities may play an important role in the pathogenesis of DR.
Objective: To determine the mean choroidal thickness changes after cataract surgery in diabetic patients.
Methods: Study Design: It was Quasi Experimental Study.
Study Setting: The study was conducted in Layton Rahmatullah Benevolent Trust Hospital, Lahore.
Study Duration: Minimum six months after the approval of the synopsis [June 15, 2019 till Feb 15, 2020]
Total 166 patients presenting in Layton Rehmatullah Benevolent Trust Hospital Lahore, were enrolled into this study. Written informed consent and detailed history was taken from every patient. Choroidal thickness was measured using the caliper found on the spectralis software from the hyper-reflective band corresponding to Bruch’s membrane beneath the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) to the chorio-scleral junction. The main outcome in this study was choroidal thickness changes after cataract surgery as per operational definition.
Results: The mean age of patients was 50.24 ± 6.33 years with minimum and maximum age as 40 and 60 years. There were 93(56%) male and 73(44%) female cases with higher male to female ratio. The mean choroidal thickness (µm) thickness before surgery was 249.61 ± 17.09 µm and after 1 month of procedure was 257.16 ± 14.21 µm, with significant mean change after surgery (7.55 ± 3.24 µm), p-value < 0.001.
Conclusion: It is concluded that mean choroidal thickness increased after cataract surgery in diabetic patients. Hence appropriate measures may be taken while cataract surgery in diabetic cases so that further complications can be minimized.
Keywords: diabetic patients, cataract surgery, diabetic patients, complications, diabetic retinopathy.