DuoVisc and sodium hyaluronate to protect corneal endothelium in phacoemulsification

Objective To compare the ability of sodium hyaluronate and DuoVisc to protect the corneal endothelium during endocapsular phacoemulsification and foldable intraocular lens implantation.Methods Seventy-two cases(86 eyes) with age-related cataract were selected and divided randomly to two groups,sodium hyaluronate group and DuoVisc group,according to the viscoelastic material.Cataract was excluted with phacoemulsification and folded intraocular lens were implanted.Endothelial cell counts were done preoperatively and 1 week,4 weeks,and 12 weeks postoperatively using noncontact endothelial microscope.The data were statistically analyzed.Results The average cell density in corneal endothelium of the sodium hyaluronate group and the DuoVisc group were (2 601.5±191.2)mm-2 and(2 579.6±232.0)mm-2,respectively,in preoperation.There was no significant difference between both two groups.At 1 week,4 weeks and 12 weeks postoperatively,the average cell density in corneal endothelium of the DuoVisc group were (2 371.5±215.3)mm-2,(2 377.8±220.6)mm-2,(2 416.3±213.2)mm-2 respectively,and the sodium hyaluronate group was (2 098.1±151.4)mm-2,(2 189.7±147.6)mm-2,(2 219.4±151.2)mm-2.It was obvious that the former was higher and the difference was significant(P0.01).Conclusion DuoVisc is better than sodium hyaluronate for protecting corneal endothelial cells in cataract phacoemulsification.