Purpose:
To determine the mean sulcus diameters in patients older than 50 years with senile cataract and to analyze the correlations of sulcus diameters with IOLMaster measurements of corneal diameter (white to white), axial length, keratometry and anterior chamber depth.
Methods:
31 eyes of 20 consecutive patients who were scheduled for cataract operation were included in the study. The same person performed routine ophthalmological examination, ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) and IOLMaster measurements. Keratometry, corneal diameter, anterior chamber depth and axial length were measured with IOLMaster. Horizontal and vertical sulcus diameters were measured from iris pigment epithelium to iris pigment epithelium on the best UBM images in terms of centralization.
Results:
Mean patient age was 71.03±8.6 (min: 51, maks: 89) years. Mean vertical sulcus diameter was 13.59±0.73, mean horizontal sulcus diameter was 13.36±0.72 mm, and the mean of horizontal and vertical sulcus diameters was 13.47±0.71 mm. Mean corneal diameter was 11.67±0.46 mm, mean keratometry was 43.86±1.46 D, mean axial length was 23.2±0.93 mm, and mean anterior chamber depth was 3.02±0.35 mm. There were statistically significant correlations between horizontal corneal diameter and horizontal sulcus diameter (r: 0.37; p<0.05), horizontal corneal diameter and mean sulcus diameter (r: 0.36; p<0.05), axial length and horizontal sulcus diameter (r: 0.56; p<0.05), axial length and vertical sulcus diameter (r: 0.56; p<0.05), and axial length and mean sulcus diameter (r: 0.57; p<0.05). The correlations between other parameters were not statistically significant.
Conclusion:
The sulcus diameters measured in our study were higher when compared to other studies in the literature. Only corneal diameter and axial length were correlated with sulcus diameters. The strongest association in our study was between axial length and sulcus diameters. (Turk J Ophthalmol 2011; 41: 376-9)
Keywords: Axial length, corneal diameter, IOLMaster, sulcus diameter, ultrasonic biomicroscope