Results of cataract surgery in renal transplantation patients.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the results of conventional extracapsular cataract extraction and phacoemulsification cataract surgery, in renal transplant patients. METHODS: A total of 11 eyes of eight renal transplant recipients who underwent cataract surgery in Ankara between 1995 and January 2001 were evaluated. Each individual underwent routine ophthalmologic examination including visual acuity with Snellen chart testing, slit-lamp examination, intraocular pressure measurement, and fundus examination. Of these, seven patients had posterior subcapsular cataracts and four had nuclear cataracts. Conventional extracapsular cataract extraction (cECCE) was performed in four eyes with single-piece all-polymethylmethacrylate posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation. The other seven eyes were treated with small-incision phacoemulsification and implantation of a foldable hydrophilic acrylic lens. RESULTS: We observed intraoperative posterior capsule rupture and vitreous loss in one patient, postoperative intraocular tension elevation in one patient, and sterile suture infiltration in one patient in our series. Average of the visual acuities 6 months after the operation was 20/30 (range, 20/60-20/20). CONCLUSIONS: In this, the first published report to describe outcomes of cataract surgery in renal transplant patients, most complications were associated with high of steroids use and immunosuppressives, and were independent of the type of cataract surgery used, either ECCE or phacoemulsification surgery. The study suggests the need for additional care before, during, and after operation.

Retinal vein occlusion and factor V Leiden and prothrombin 20210 G:A mutations.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to establish whether the factor V Leiden mutation and the prothrombin 20210 G:A mutation were risk factors for retinal vein occlusion. METHODS: Blood samples were obtained from 40 patients with retinal vein occlusion and from 50 healthy normal volunteers as controls. Polymerase chain reaction assays were done to detect factor V Leiden and prothrombin 20210 G:A mutations, and the two groups were compared. RESULTS: Two (5%) of 40 patients with retinal vein occlusion and three (6%) of 50 controls were heterozygous for factor V Leiden (p=0.84). None of the individuals in either group had the prothrombin 20210 G:A mutation. CONCLUSIONS: There was no significant association between retinal vein occlusion and the factor V Leiden mutation.