Astigmatic equivalence of 2.2-mm and 1.8-mm superior clear corneal cataract incision.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the astigmatic effects of 2.2-mm and 1.8-mm cataract incisions.

METHODS

A randomized prospective study of 190 eyes of 151 patients undergoing superior clear corneal incision (SCCI) was divided into three groups: 61 eyes with a control 3.2-mm SCCI; 66 eyes with a 2.2-mm SCCI; and 63 eyes with a 1.8-mm SCCI. The corneal astigmatism was measured with an autokeratometer preoperatively and 1 month after surgery. The with-the-wound (WTW), against the-wound (ATW), and WTW-ATW changes were calculated using the Holladay-Cravy-Koch formula.

RESULTS

The WTW, ATW, and WTW-ATW changes were significantly higher for the control 3.2-mm SCCI than for the 2.2- and 1.8-mm SCCI (all p < 0.001), and no difference was found between the 2.2- and 1.8-mm SCCI incision groups.

CONCLUSION

In our study, the astigmatic effects were the same for the 2.2 mm and 1.8 mm incisions and as expected, were significantly lower than the control 3.2 mm incision group.