Aims: To determine the incidence of Fuchs’ endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD) in patients undergoing cataract surgery in the Czech population.
Material and Methods: Consecutive group of 2804 eyes of 1499 patients undergoing cataract surgery at the Lexum Karlovy Vary clinic in the period from 4/2022 to 9/2024. The corneal endothelium was examined preoperatively using a slit lamp and an endothelial microscope. The corneas were divided into 6 grades (0–5) according to the Krachmer scale, or 4 clinical stages of the disease.
Results: The incidence of FECD in our group of patients undergoing cataract surgery was 29.6% (total 840 eyes). In 578 cases this concerned stage 1 of the disease, which had no effect on the outcome of the operation. In 81 cases it concerned a stage 3-5 disease, in which potential postoperative complications must be taken into account. In 13 cases (0.46%) we primarily performed a combined procedure of cataract surgery and DMEK (Descemet’s membrane endothelial keratoplasty).
Conclusion: FECD in the population of cataract patients is probably often under-diagnosed. In our cohort of patients we registered some signs of the disease in more than a quarter of the patients.