Patients with preexisting early or intermediate age-related macular degeneration (AMD) are slightly more likely to see progression to neovascular AMD (nAMD) after cataract surgery, new research has suggested.
The research, published in Ophthalmology,1 said while the finding does not establish a causal relationship between cataract surgery and nAMD conversion, it may inform clinical decision making and patient counselling when considering cataract surgery in the context of AMD.
The investigators reviewed data from eyes with early or intermediate AMD, aged at least 55 years with phakic lenses, who participated in the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s Intelligent Research in Sight (IRIS) Registry between 2016 and 2022.
The researchers found that eyes with cataract surgery were 22% more likely to convert to nAMD compared with eyes that did not undergo cataract surgery.
When patients exhibited the same baseline best corrected visual acuity, cataract surgery was linked with a 43% higher risk of nAMD.
In the first year after diagnosis with dry AMD, patients who received cataract surgery had 2.5 times greater risk of developing nAMD. The risk was non-significant by year four.
The researchers found that eyes with cataract surgery were 22% more likely to convert to nAMD compared with eyes that did not undergo cataract surgery.
Reference
- Ashourizadeh H, Gilbert JB, Armstrong GW, et al. on behalf of the IRIS Registry Analytic Center Consortium. Cataract surgery and the risk of conversion from dry to neovascular age-related macular degeneration in the IRIS Registry. Ophthalmol. Published online June 22, 2026. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2026.06.016.
