The Use of Polyvinyl Alcohol & Povidone During The Preoperative and Postoperative Management of Phacoemulsification

Background: To investigate the effect of regular application of polyvinyl alcohol & povidone eye drops during the perioperative period in patients undergoing phacoemulsification on the signs and symptoms of dry eye syndrome developing secondary to phacoemulsification. Methods: Patients who underwent phacoemulsification due to senile cataract were examined in two separate groups: Patients followed with topical moxifloxacin, prednisolone and polyvinyl alcohol & povidone eye drops, Group I , patients followed with topical moxifloxacin and prednisolone, Group II was separated as. Results: According to the results obtained from the study, the data vary. Of the patients included in the study (n = 104 patients), 50% were female and 50% were male, and their average age was 59.83 ± 5.33. In Group I, there was an increase in TBUT and Schirmer I values in the postoperative period (p < 0.05), while there was a decrease in the Oxford grading scale (p < 0.05). On the other hand, in Group II, while TBUT decreased in the postoperative period (p < 0.05), an increase in Oxford grading scale was detected (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Considering the perioperative period of phacoemulsification surgery, it was observed that the use of polyvinyl alcohol & povidone eye drops contributed positively to dry eye findings. Moreover, the use of preoperative artificial tears is extremely important for the prevention of postoperative dry eye syndrome, which reduces the risk of infection and thus maintaining healthy homeostasis of the anterior segment.