Abstract:To evaluate the changes in corneal endothelium and corneal thickness in patients with diabetes mellitus after manual small incision cataract surgery (MSICS). Methods Sixty eyes of 60 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (diabetic group) and 60 eyes of 60 age-matched patients of advanced cataract (control group) undergoing MSICS were evaluated. All the patients underwent specular microscopy for the corneal endothelial cell count of cornea and central corneal thickness before operation, and 1, 6 and 12 weeks after operation. The morphology, and variation in the endothelial size and shape and percentage of hexagonal cells were assessed. Results The mean pre-operative endothelial count in the control group was higher than that in the diabetic group (p < 0.05). The post-operative endothelial count significantly decreased in both groups (one-way ANOVA, p< 0.05). After operation the decrease in the endothelial cell number of the diabetic group (14.19%) was more obvious than that of the control group (8.05%, p< 0.05). The increase of central corneal thickness in the diabetic group was more significant as compared to the control group (p < 0.05). The change in the percentage of hexagon cells in the diabetic group was significantly bigger than that in the control group (p < 0.05). The coefficient of inter-group variation was not significantly differens (p > 0.05). Conclusions Compared to non-diabetic patients, diabetic patients have more damage of endothelial cells after MSICS. Corneal endothelial evaluation of diabetic patients is recommended before any intraocular surgery.