Impact of Cataract Surgery on Foveal Avascular Zone Detected by Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography

Purpose: To investigate the influence of cataract surgery on detection of a foveal avascular zone (FAZ) and retinal capillary density (RCD) by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Methods: In this study, 64 eyes of 64 patients with cataracts who underwent surgery were included and studied retrospectively. All patients underwent cataract surgery of the included eye and a FAZ was detected on OCTA preoperatively and postoperatively using one of two kinds of OCTA devices. The FAZ and RCD were compared before and after cataract surgery using paired t-test. Results: Using the Cirrus Angioplex OCTA device, there was no significant pre- or post-operative difference in the FAZ area (p = 0.060), perimeter (p = 0.052) and circularity (p = 0.190). It also revealed no significant difference between the central (p = 0.310), inner (p = 0.310), and outer (p = 0.310) zones and full RCD (p = 0.228) before and after cataract surgery The Spectralis OCTA device also showed no significant difference in the FAZ area (p = 0.239) before and after cataract surgery. Conclusions: Cataract surgery does not affect detection of the FAZ and RCD on OCTA. Although patients who have a FAZ-related retinal disorder such as diabetic retinopathy and undergo cataract surgery are followed up regularly, it seems that the results gained by OCTA are reliable and comparable to the preoperative result.