Cataract surgery doesn’t appear to increase the risk for AMD progression

A recent review of current evidence found that cataract surgery does not appear to increase the risk for progression in eyes with co-existing age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a concern that patients often have.

Reassuring patients with visually significant cataract and AMD that cataract surgery will not increase the risk of AMD progression is important, as well as educating patients on the natural progression of late AMD.

Frequent follow-up to identify natural progression and the early initiation of treatment are crucial in these patients.

Reference
Bhandari S, Chew EY. Cataract surgery and the risk of progression of macular degeneration. Curr Opin Ophthalmol. 2023;34(1):27-31. doi: 10.1097/ICU.0000000000000909. Epub 2022 Nov 21. PMID: 36484207.