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Square, 2.2 mm posterior limbal incisions minimize SIA during cataract surgery
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CHICAGO – Square posterior limbal incisions reduce surgically induced astigmatism during cataract surgery, according to a speaker.
Paul H. Ernest, MD, compared results data on mean and standard deviation SIA between 38 cases that he performed and 140 total cases of four other surgeons who performed similarly sized clear cornea incisions. Each of the four surgeons performed at least 20 of the operations.
Preoperative data was gathered using autokeratometry readings, and vector analysis was used to determine SIA.
“We ensured that the incision was exactly where we wanted it to be. We waited 6 months to remeasure the cornea,” Dr. Ernest said at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery meeting here.
“Posterior limbal incisions not only had a lower mean value – 0.25 – but also an extremely low standard deviation of 0.14,” Dr. Ernest said.
Mean SIA for the other surgeons ranged from 0.5 to 0.88, but generally was between 0.5 and 0.6, Dr. Ernest said.
“Cataract surgery is becoming more and more refractive surgery,” Dr. Ernest said. “As we use devices such as toric implants or presbyopic corrective lenses, we are now looking to do arcuate cuts with the femtosecond laser. It’s very difficult to try to calculate what you’re going to get from your incision if you have about a 1 D spread in your surgically induced astigmatism.”
- Disclosure: Dr. Ernest has no relevant financial interests.