A comparison study of the extracapsular and phakoemulsification methods of catarct extraction and their effects on postoperative astigmatism

Abstract

We conducted a retrospective study in which the optometric findings of 40 extracapsular cataract patients were reviewed in order to compare two cataract extraction techniques: planned Extracapsular (ECCE) and phakoemulsification (PKE). Insertion of posterior chamber intraocular lenses (IOL's) was included in both procedures. Specifically, we looked at the postoperative astigmatism observed in each group. Patients in the PKE group experienced lower amounts of postoperative astigmatism which remained more stable in amount and orientation. This magnitude of astigmatic difference was significantly different by t-test analysis with a critical value of .001. The PKE group also exhibited better correctable visual acuity than the ECCE group.