Materials and Methods: In this prospective study thirty eyes of 30 patients who underwent uneventful phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation surgery were included. Peripapillary RNFL thickness measurements were taken before and after cataract surgery using high-resolution OCT (Spectralis OCT, Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany). Temporal (T), temporal superior (TS), temporal inferior (TI), nasal (N), nasal superior (NS), nasal inferior (NI) quadrant and global (G) RNFL thickness values were evaluated before and after surgery. Paired-sample t-test was used for statistical analysis.

Results: Of the 30 patients 16 (53.3%) were man, 14 (46.7%) were woman. Mean age was 65.1±12.7 years. Before cataract surgery mean RNFL thickness was 80.2±29.4 μ in T, 122.7±33.6 μ in TS, 123.3±46.3 μ in TI, 78.2±31.5 μ in N, 101.3±23.8 μ in NS, 103.7±44.3 μ in NI and 96.1±25.9 μ in G. After cataract surgery RNFL thickness was 81.1±37.4 μ in T, 124.6±39.3 μ in TS, 132.3±37.3 μ in TI, 90.2±47.0 μ in N, 105.3±41.6 μ in NS, 124.2±57.8 μ in NI and 103.9±36.5 μ in G.In all quadrants and globally mean RNFL thickness was measured higher after surgery. However, it was statistically significant in only NI group (p=0.007). There was no statistically significant difference in all RNFL thickness measurements after surgery (p>0.05).

Conclusion: In eyes with cataract, RNFL thickness may be measured thinner when using spectralis OCT. So, RNFL thickness measurements should be interpreted cautiously in eyes with cataract. Keywords : Retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, optical coherence tomography