Effect of cataract surgery with intraocular lens implant on frequency doubling perimetry

Purpose: To study the effect of cataract surgery with intraocular lens (IOL) on frequency doubling perimetry (FDP). Methods: Patients aged 40 years or above seen at our outpatient clinic with no ocular pathology except for visually significant cataract and visual acuity 6/24 or better were eligible. They underwent FDP before and 4 to 6 weeks after cataract surgery with IOL. Results: Screening test: Mean scores by three different scoring methods were 1.82 (3.21), 2.80 (5.54), 4.18 (9.18) before and 0.22 (0.51), 0.26 (0.63), 0.26 (0.69) after surgery (p = 0.002 0.001, < 0.0001). Threshold test: Mean deviation (MD) and pattern standard deviation (PSD) were -5.23 (3.08) and 5.15 (2.78) before and 2.94 (2.49) (p < 0.0001) and 5.21 (1.780) (p = 0.63) after surgery. Conclusions: The screening test should be interpreted cautiously in the presence of cataract. On threshold testing, cataract surgery causes significant decrease in MD but no change in PSD.