To evaluate the short-term changes in tear film dynamics with non-invasive infrared imaging measurement before and after cataract surgery as a pilot study.

Seventeen eyes of 17 patients without preoperative dry eye were enrolled in this study. Non-invasive keratograph tear break-up time (NIK-TBUT) and non-invasive keratograph tear meniscus height (NIK-TMH) were measured before and 1 day, 1 week, and 1 month after cataract surgery using a keratograph.

The mean patient age was 64.47 ± 10.28 years, and 78.95% were female. Although the mean postoperative 1 day NIK-TBUT-first value was not significantly different from the preoperative value, the mean postoperative 1 week and 1 month NIK-TBUT-first values were significantly lower than preoperative values ( p < 0.05). The postoperative 1 day, 1 week, and 1 month NIK-TBUT-average and the NIK-TMH values were not different from preoperative values.

Our study showed that cataract surgery can lead to tear film instability. And it is important to determine the long-term outcomes of surgery and whether NIK-TBUT and NIK-TMH correlate with slit lamp examination tear break-up time (SLE-TBUT) and slit lamp examination tear meniscus height (SLE-TMH).