Comparison of cornea endothelial cell counts after combined phacovitrectomy versus pars plana vitrectomy with fragmentation

Background: To compare postoperative cornea endothelial cell loss between combined phacovitrectomy and pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) with fragmentation. Methods: Eighty-eight consecutive patients (92 eyes) who underwent combined phacovitrectomy (53 eyes from 50 patients) or PPV with fragmentation (39 eyes from 38 patients) were enrolled in this retrospective study. Endothelial cell density (ECD) was calculated with specular microscopy at 1 and 3 months after surgery. Results: At 3 months after surgery, the mean ECD decreased significantly from 2,646∈±∈296 cells/mm² to 2,422∈±∈347 cells/mm² in the combined phacovitrectomy group (P∈<∈0.001). However, the PPV with fragmentation group did not show any significant changes in ECD during the same period (from 2,123∈±∈628 cells/mm² to 2,073∈±∈574 cells/mm²). The mean endothelial cell loss in the combined phacovitrectomy group (7.9 and 9.5 %) was significantly higher than that in the PPV with fragmentation group (0.7 and 2.4 %) both at 1 and 3 months postoperatively (P∈=∈0.001 and P∈=∈0.001 respectively). Conclusion: In this study, corneal endothelial cell loss during the early postoperative period was significantly higher after combined phacovitrectomy than after PPV with fragmentation.