AIM: To investigate the therapeutic effect of femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery(FLACS)in eyes with shallow anterior chamber depth.

METHODS: Totally 60 eyes of 55 cataract patients with shallow anterior chamber who received cataract phacoemulsification in Tangshan eye hospital from November 2020 to February 2021 were selected, and divided into two groups according to the surgical methods on patient's subjective willingness: Patients who received FLACS were assigned to the FLACS group(28 patients, 30 eyes), and patients who received conventional Phaco(27 patients, 30 eyes)were assigned to the Phaco group. Preoperative general conditions, cumulative dissipated energy(CDE), effective phacoemulsification time(EPT), postoperative best corrected visual acuity(BCVA), uncorrected visual acuity(UCVA), endothelial cell loss rate(ECL), central macular thickness(CMT)and complications were compared and analyzed.

RESULTS:There was no significant difference in preoperative general data between the two groups(P>0.05). In both groups, UCVA at 1d, 1wk and 1mo after surgery and BCVA at 1wk and 1mo after surgery were better than those before surgery, and at 1d after surgery, UCVA in FLACS group was better than that in Phaco group, the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05). In the FLACS group, CDE, EPT, ECL at 1wk and 1mo after surgery, and the incidence of corneal edema at 1d and 1wk after surgery were all lower than those in the Phaco group(all P<0.05). There was no significant change in CMT in either the intragroup comparison or the intergroup comparison(P>0.05).

CONCLUSION:FLACS is safe and effective in patients with shallow anterior chamber cataract, which can significantly reduce the rate of endothelial cell loss, quickly restore vision, reduce the incidence of complications, and has no significant effect on macula.