Effect of neodymium: yttrium–aluminium-garnet laser posterior capsulotomy on retina

To evaluate the effect of neodymium: yttrium–aluminium-garnet laser posterior capsulotomy (Nd:YAG-caps) on retinal thickness and microcirculation by wide-field swept-source optical coherence tomography (WF SS-OCTA). 35 eyes of 35 patients who had posterior capsule opacification (PCO) were included, all patients underwent Nd:YAG-caps and had complete follow-up results available. The 12 × 12 mm macular region was examined preoperatively and postoperatively (on the 1st day and 1st week) by WF SS-OCTA. The retinal thickness and microcirculation were compared before and after Nd:YAG-caps. The retinal microcirculation parameters were higher on the 1st postoperative day compared to the preoperative day, and recovered by the1st postoperative week (all p < 0.05). However, neither the basal level of spherical equivalent refraction (SER), best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and intraocular pressure (IOP), nor the changes of SER, BCVA and IOP between preoperative and 1st postoperative day were correlated with the changes in retinal microcirculation parameters between preoperative and 1st postoperative day (all p > 0.05). Besides, the thickness of each retinal layer didn’t differ significantly between preoperative and postoperative measurements (all p > 0.05). There is a transient increase in retinal microcirculation after Nd:YAG-caps, and the alteration of retinal microcirculation was more sensitive than the change of thickness. WF SS-OCTA can detect such subtle change and prevent possible retinopathy in time after Nd:YAG-caps.