To investigate changes in ocular high-order aberrations (HOAs) resulting from phacotrabeculectomy and phacoemulsification.

We retrospectively reviewed 38 eyes of 38 glaucoma and cataract patients who underwent mitomycin C (MMC) augmented trabeculectomy with phacoemulsification and 34 eyes of 34 cataract patients who underwent phacoemulsifiction. For all patients, we measured the best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure (IOP), keratometry, and HOAs (iTrace, Tracey Technologies, Houston, TX, USA) both preoperatively and postoperatively.

IOP was significantly decreased after surgery in the combined group ( p < 0.001). Entire eye, coma-like, and spherical-like high-order aberrations from each entire eye, corneal aberrations, and internal-optics aberration were increased until after 2 weeks, which then decreased until 3 months after phacotrabeculectomy. In the phacoemulsification group, entire eye (each p = 0.006, p =0.006), coma-like (each p = 0.006 and p = 0.005), and spherical-like high-order aberrations (each p = 0.008, p = 0.005) from entire eye and internal-optics aberrations were decreased.

After cataract surgery, entire eye, coma-like, and spherical-like high-order aberrations were significantly decreased while aberrations did not change after combined operation. These results suggest that a change in high-order aberrations of internal optics results in a decrease in postoperative HOAs. In addition, the baseline HOAs of the cataract group were higher than those of the combined surgery group, and the effect of trabeculectomy on HOAs may offset the impact of cataract surgery in the combined surgery group.