Visual acuity and contrast sensitivity in different types of posterior capsule opacification

PURPOSE: To compare the visual acuity (VA) and contrast sensitivity in 2 types of posterior capsule opacification (PCO) in pseudophakic eyes before and after neodymium:YAG (Nd:YAG) capsulotomy and to evaluate vision test results after Nd:YAG capsulotomy. SETTING: Department of Ophthalmology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan. METHODS: Fourteen eyes with fibrosis-type PCO and 15 eyes with Elschnig-pearl-type PCO were enrolled prospectively. Before and 1 week after Nd:YAG capsulotomy, VA and contrast sensitivity were assessed using the illiterate E version of the Bailey-Lovie chart and the Vistech VCTS 6000 chart, respectively. RESULTS: Before capsulotomy, the mean logMAR acuity in the group with Elschnig-pearl-type PCO was 0.47 +/- 0.32 (SD) and in the group with fibrosis-type PCO, 0.17 +/- 0.07. The difference between the 2 groups was significant (P =.002). After capsulotomy, there was no significant between-group difference (P >.05). Before capsulotomy, the contrast sensitivity was significantly worse (P <.01) at all spatial frequencies in the group with pearl-type PCO, especially at 6 cycles per degree. After capsulotomy, there was no significant between-group difference (P >.05) at any spatial frequency. CONCLUSIONS: After cataract surgery, patients with pearl-type PCO had lower VA and contrast sensitivity than those with fibrosis-type PCO. An Nd:YAG capsulotomy improved the VA and contrast sensitivity in patients with both types of PCO.