AIM: To explore the effect of phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation on corneal endothelial cells(CECs)in patients with glaucoma and cataract.

METHODS: The clinical data of 107 patients(113 affected eyes)with glaucoma and cataract who were treated in the hospital during the period from October 2016 to October 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients treated with trabeculectomy or phacoemulsification combined with intraocular lens implantation were included in the control group(n=52, 54 affected eyes)and the study group(n=55, 59 affected eyes). The changes in visual acuity, anterior chamber depth and intraocular pressure before and after surgery, CECs related indexes and incidence of postoperative complications were compared between the two groups.

RESULTS: There was no significant difference in visual acuity between the two groups before surgery(P>0.05). The visual acuity of both groups were significantly improved after surgery(P<0.05), and the improvement in study group was better than that in control group(P<0.05).The anterior chamber depth in both groups increased, while intraocular pressure decreased after surgery(P<0.05). After surgery, anterior chamber depth in study group was significantly larger than that in control group(P<0.05), but there was no significant difference in intraocular pressure between the two groups(P>0.05). The cell area variation coefficient, hexagonal cell ratio, average cell area and corneal center thickness in control group increased significantly, while CECs density decreased significantly after surgery(P<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in CECs related indexes in study group before and after surgery(P>0.05). After surgery, changes levels of CECs related indexes in study group were significantly lower than those in control group(P<0.05). The incidence rates of postoperative complications in study group and control group were 5.1% and 20.4%, respectively(P<0.05).

CONCLUSION: The application of phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation in the treatment of glaucoma with cataract can improve the visual acuity and intraocular pressure of patients, maintain structural integrity of CECs, with safety.