Effect of superior and temporal clear corneal incisions on astigmatism after sutureless phacoemulsification

ŞİMŞEK Ş., YAŞAR T., Demirok A., Cinal A., Yılmaz Ö.

Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, cilt.24, sa.4, ss.515-518, 1998 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)

Özet

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of superior and temporal clear corneal incisions on astigmatism after sutureless, small incision phacoemulsification. Setting: World Eye Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. Methods: This prospective study evaluated 40 eyes of 20 patients with cataract having bilateral, sutureless, small incision phacoemulsification by the same surgeon. A superior clear corneal incision was used in all right eyes and a temporal clear corneal incision in all left eyes. Mean preoperative astigmatism was 0.63 diopter (D) ± 0.21 (SD) and 0.65 ± 0.20 D, respectively. Mean patient age was 66.45 years. Patients were examined preoperatively and 1 day, 1 week, and 1 and 3 months postoperatively. Results: Three months postoperatively, mean astigmatism was 1.60 ± 0.37 D in the superior incision group and 0.83 ± 0.19 D in the temporal incision group. Induced astigmatism calculated by vector analysis was 1.44 ± 0.31 D and 0.62 ± 0.28 D, respectively. The temporal incision group had significantly lower astigmatism at all follow-ups (P = .000). Conclusion: Upper lid pressure on the superior corneal incisions led to fluctuating, against-the-rule astigmatism that was significantly higher than that induced by temporal incisions.