Selected pre-operative and intraoperative factors affecting changes in corneal endothelial cell density three months after phacoemulsification at a private eye hospital in Nairobi, Kenya

Objective: To evaluate selected patient factors that affect endothelial cell loss 3 months followingphacoemulsification surgery.Methods: This was a prospective cohort study carried out at a single center, Eagle Eye and Laser Center, Nairobi,Kenya that has a Tomey 3000 specular microscope. All patients undergoing phacoemulsification surgery duringthe study period were included. The collected data was entered into Microsoft Excel and analyzed using SPSSResults: Average age was 65±12.327 with a M:F ratio of 1.2:1. Forty-one eyes of 33 patients were studied andshowed an overall endothelial cell loss of 7.2%. Diabetes was associated with more endothelial cell loss whilelonger axial length was associated with less endothelial cell loss.Conclusion: Phacoemulsification surgery is safe despite inevitable minimal loss in endothelial cells. Care shouldbe taken when operating on diabetic patients due to their susceptibility to more cell loss.