COMPARISON OF ASTIGMATIC OUTCOMES AFTER PHACOEMULSIFICATION WITH SUPERIOR, TEMPORAL OR OBLIQUE CLEAR CORNEAL INCISIONS: A RANDOMIZED PROSPECTIVE TRIAL

Abstract

Introduction : A variety of modalities are available presently to deal with astigmatism in relation to phacoemulsification surgery. Of these, toric intraocular lenses are expensive, limbal Paper Submission Daterelaxing incisions are unpredictable and both of these cater to a limited dioptric range and type of astigmatism. Simply planning the incision according to pre-existing corneal astigmatism is an economical and rationale way of addressing this issue. To compare residual post operative astigmatism after phacoemulsification with foldable IOLsimplantation with different sites of clear corneal incision in patients with pre-existing astigmatism. Material and Methods: Study was done to evaluate residual corneal astigmatism after July 2017 phacoemulsification with foldable intraocular lens implantation from Jan 13 to May 14. A total of 90 eyes of 85 patients were selected having visually significant cataract. Incision was planned on steeper axis on basis of preoperative keratometric values and divided into 3 groups namely, WTR who received superior clear corneal incision (CCI), ATR who received temporal and OBQ received superotemporal or superonasal CCI respectively. Surgically induced astigmatism (SIA) was also calculated by SIA calculator using the vector method. Statistical analysis used is Kruskal Wallis test, Chi-square test, F-test. Results: Residual corneal astigmatism among the three groups was found to be nonsignificant. Comparison of mean preoperative and postoperative corneal astigmatism between 3 groups came out be statistically significant. Conclusion: The study concludes that preoperative astigmatism should always be assessed and addressed preoperatively by suitable incision sites to provide the best results.