ESCRS 2026: Low-level light therapy for post-cataract dry eye

At the 44th Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS), held September 11 to 15, 2026, in London, Giuseppe Giannaccare, MD, PhD, FEBOphth, professor and chairman of ophthalmology at the University of Cagliari, in Italy, presented new data on low-level light therapy in patients undergoing cataract surgery. The study evaluated whether perioperative light therapy sessions could reduce the ocular surface deterioration and dry eye symptoms that commonly follow cataract surgery.

Low-level light therapy uses targeted diodes to act on the meibomian glands, conjunctiva, and cornea, improving cellular function while reducing oxidative stress and ocular surface inflammation, Giannaccare explained. Of 98 patients randomized, 88 were included in the final analysis: 44 who received light therapy 1 week before and 1 week after surgery, and 44 sham-treated controls—with the Ocular Surface Disease Index as the primary outcome and tear breakup time, Schirmer test, and tear osmolarity as secondary endpoints, assessed at baseline and 1 month postoperatively.¹

Patients who received light therapy showed significantly greater clinical improvement than sham-treated controls (44.2% vs 4.4%; P <.0001).¹ Giannaccare said the effect was significant enough to position light therapy as a potential adjunctive treatment alongside standard postoperative regimens of steroids, tear substitutes, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to boost anti-inflammatory control after surgery.

Giannaccare noted the protocol fits naturally into existing surgical workflows, since patients are typically seen about one week before surgery for biometry and preoperative workup, and again at 1 day and 5 to 7 days postoperatively—visits that already align with when the two light therapy sessions would be delivered. He added the study's novel contribution was documenting improvement in tear biomarkers tied to tissue repair, neurotrophic signaling, and inflammation resolution—including GDF-15, β-NGF, and PDGF-CC—an angle not captured in his group's earlier work on light therapy in cataract patients.¹

Reference

1. Timofte-Zorila MM, Pavel-Tanasa M, Giannaccare G, et al. Tear biomarker changes and ocular surface recovery with low-level light therapy after cataract surgery: a double-masked randomized controlled clinical trial. Sci Rep. 2026;16(1):22977. doi:10.1038/s41598-026-53521-4