Functional, morphological outcomes for coaxial cataract surgery may be similar with 1.8- and 2.2-mm incisions

Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging.2011;42(2):114-124.

Coaxial microincision cataract surgery may be successfully and safely performed using slight variations in incision dimension, a study found.

In the prospective study, 30 eyes that underwent coaxial microincision cataract surgery with the Infiniti Vision System and OZil torsional handpiece (Alcon) were randomized to two groups: those receiving a 1.8-mm incision and those receiving a 2.2-mm incision.

Uncorrected visual acuity, best corrected visual acuity, keratometric astigmatism and endothelial cell count did not differ significantly between the groups.

However, a greater increase in corneal thickness at the site of incision was observed in the 1.8-mm group on day 1 postop. At 30 days and 90 days postop, this difference was no longer significant.

Confocal microscopy also showed slightly greater tunnel edema in the 1.8-mm group on postop day 1, but the edema resolved in each group.

The study authors suggested that the greater difficulty of IOL insertion with the 1.8-mm incision, due to the mismatched dimensions between the incision tunnel and Alcon's Monarch D cartridge, may have resulted in the higher edema for this group.

To the study authors' knowledge, this was the first in vivo confocal microscopy study to demonstrate that different incision dimensions during cataract surgery do not change the morphological appearance of the tunnel.