COMPARISON OF SURGICALLY INDUCED ASTIGMATISM WITH SMALL INCISION CATARACT SURGERY AND PHACOEMULSIFICATION

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Surgically induced astigmatism is the cause of poor postoperative vision even after uneventful cataract surgery. AIM: The aim of the study was to compare the effect of surgically induced astigmatism in SICS and Phacoemulsification after taking the incision in the steepest meridian. SETTING: KLE Hospital, Belagavi, Karnataka. DESIGN: Longitudinal study. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 100 eyes of 100 patients with mean age of 62 years were included in the study. Consecutive patients with cataract were randomly assigned to undergo phacoemulsification or manual SICS by a single surgeon experienced in both techniques. Group A underwent SICS (Small Incision Cataract Surgery) and group B had phacoemulsification. Surgically induced astigmatism was analyzed by SIA software. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Non-parametric method (Mann whitney U test). RESULTS: The measurement of induced astigmatism was taken: dK, the net keratometric change in corneal toricity. Average dK for Group A (SICS) was +0.05 D and for Group B (Phacoemulsification) was -0.53 D. There was a difference of -0.49 D between the two groups in terms of induced keratometric astigmatism. The SICS group actually demonstrated on the average a greater iatrogenic astigmatism than the phacoemulsification group keratometrically. This is clinically or statistically significant (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Phacoemulsification induces less astigmatism than SICS. Iatrogenic astigmatism is more with SICS.