Objective: To evaluate the central macular thickness (CMT) alterations of cataract patients without any risk factors who underwent uneventful phacoemulsification surgery and investigate the incidence of Irvine Gass Syndrome (IGS) without using perioperative topical non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) treatment.

Materials and Methods: Fifty eyes of 50 cataract patients formed the study group and fellow 50 eyes with no history of previous ocular surgery formed the control group. All patients underwent a routine ophthalmologic examination preoperatively, 1 day, 1 week, 1 and 3 months after surgery including visual acuity, tonometry, fundoscopy and optic coherence tomography.

Results: The mean age of the participants was 69.92±9.93 (range 41-85) years. The mean CMT of the operated eyes preoperatively, 1 day, 1 week, 1 and 3 months after surgery were 248.56±21.67, 249.08±21.36, 250.26±19.8, 254.3±24.81 and 251.36±21.3 μm, respectively. In the control eyes, those were 250.80±21.47, 251.46±21.44, 251.36±21.41, 251.3±21.51 and 251.32±20.87μm, respectively. There was a significant increase in operated eyes 1 week, 1, and 3 months after surgery compared to preoperative measurements (P<0.05). Besides, we observed IGS in one of the male patients (2%) 1 month after surgery.

Conclusion: Uneventful phacoemulsification cataract surgery increased CMT even in patients with no predisposing risk factors. Moreover, topical Nepafenac treatment may accelerate the regression of central macular edema in IGS cases.