Incisional correction of corneal astigmatism during ‎phacoemulsification – a randomized trial

Abstract

Background: Phacoemulsification is regarded as a type of refractive surgery by which it is possible to ‎reduce pre-existing corneal stigmatism.‎ This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of on-axis corneal incision with or without opposite clear corneal incisions (OCCI) to correct preoperative corneal astigmatism during uncomplicated phacoemulsification ‎surgeries.‎ Methods: A randomized, prospective, parallel two-arm interventional study, which included a ‎total 40 eyes from 40 patients, was conducted.‎ Patients were divided into two groups: 20 patients as controls underwent phacoemulsification with on-axis incision (CCI group), and 20 patients underwent phacoemulsification with OCCI (OCCI group). Results: Mean astigmatic correction was significantly higher in the OCCI group (0.665 vs 0.265 diopters, p-value <0.001), compared to the CCI group. Most of the parameters (surgical induced astigmatism, magnitude of error, and correction index) were significantly higher in the OCCI group compared to the CCI group (p-value <0.01). There were no ‎incision-related complications. Conclusions: Both incisional methods are useful methods for correction of preoperative corneal ‎astigmatism but OCCIs correct a higher amount of astigmatism than the on-axis clear ‎corneal incision.‎ Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04418986 (05/06/2020).