Long-term outcomes of cataract surgery: 15-year results of a prospective study

PURPOSE: To describe the change over a 15-year period in corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), subjective visual function, and neodymium:YAG (Nd:YAG) frequency after cataract surgery. SETTING: Eye Clinic, Norrlands University Hospital, Umeå, Sweden. DESIGN: Prospective longitudinal population-based cohort study. METHODS: Patients who had cataract surgery during a 1-year period, 15 years previously (1997 to 1998), were included. All patients answered the same Visual Function-14 (VF-14) questionnaire preoperatively, 4 months postoperatively, and 5, 10, and 15 years after surgery. Most patients (88%; 168/190; 74% of survivors) also had an ocular examination. The CDVA was measured with logMAR charts. RESULTS: The study included 190 patients (83% of survivors). Fifteen years after surgery, the median CDVA in the operated eye had deteriorated from 20/20 postoperatively to 20/25 (P = .0001). Sixty percent of the patients had worsening of CDVA of less than 0.1 logMAR units compared with postoperatively. Fifty-four percent (103/190) had no deterioration in subjective visual function (VF-14), and 79% (150/190) had 10 points of decline or less. Previous Nd:YAG laser capsulotomy was more common in those younger than 65 years at surgery (49% versus 25%) (P = .002). CONCLUSIONS: The study confirms the effectiveness of cataract extraction, offering good long-term visual rehabilitation for the majority of the patients. The most common comorbidity causing large functional loss 15 years after surgery was age-related macular degeneration. Fifteen years after surgery, one half of the patients younger than 65 years at surgery had not required a posterior Nd:YAG laser capsulotomy. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: The author has no financial or proprietary interest in any method or material mentioned.