Diabetic retinopathy and cataract surgery, Xining Aier Eye Hospital, Qinghai Province, China

Abstract A bibliographic review was carried out with the purpose of knowing the clinical aspects of patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR) and macular edema (ME) before undergoing cataract surgery. Topics such as the evolution of diabetes mellitus (DM) to DR in its different stages and diabetic ME as a complication of DR were addressed. Exhaustive preoperative evaluations were performed in patients with Retinal Detachment who underwent cataract surgery, highlighting the relevance of spectral domain optical coherence tomography, which facilitated an accurate diagnosis and individualized surgical planning. In addition, the management of diabetic complications and the different surgical options available were analyzed, considering the risk-benefit ratio when deciding whether to treat the diabetic complication first, the cataract surgery or both simultaneously. Research from several years to the present was consulted to know the different results of the use of these surgical procedures up to the latest techniques under study such as intravitreal injections of antiangiogenic agents and steroid implants to take the best solution in each case. Every patient with DM, regardless of the time of evolution of the same, should be subjected to rigorous eye examinations before undergoing cataract surgery, to know the state of the retina, whether or not it has developed DR, in what stage it is, if it has received previous treatment with laser or antiangiogenic drugs, or new therapies, so that we can establish a more accurate postoperative visual prognosis and give informed consent to the patient and family.