To study the results of phacoemulsification in eyes with white cataract.
Setting
Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, India.
Methods
This retrospective study comprised 212 consecutive patients with white cataract: 192 mature (90.6%), 11 intumescent (5.2%), and 9 hypermature (4.2%). Patients had phacoemulsification and continuous curvilinear capsulorhexis. After the nucleus was removed by the divide and conquer or the phaco chop technique, a posterior chamber intraocular lens was implanted. Preoperative and intraoperative findings, as well as postoperative outcomes, were analyzed.
Results
Intraoperative complications included premature entry of the tunnel into the anterior chamber in 4 eyes (1.9%), incomplete capsulorhexis in 60 (28.3%), posterior capsular tear in 4 (1.9%), conversion to a manual nonphacoemulsification technique in 4 (1.9%), intraoperative miosis in 7 (3.3%), and iris chafing in 2 (0.9%). Mean phacoemulsification time was 2.03 minutes (range 0 to 5.8 minutes). A best corrected visual acuity of 6/9 or better was attained in 131 patients (61.8%) on the first postoperative day and in 199 patients (93.9%) at 1 month. Postoperative complications included moderate transient striate keratopathy with corneal edema in 12 eyes (5.7%) and iritis in 2 (0.9%).
Conclusion
Phacoemulsification was a safe and effective technique to remove white mature cataract in eyes in a developing country.
aAravind Eye Hospital & PG Institute of Ophthalmology, Tamilnadu, India
Reprint requests to Arup Chakrabarti, MD, Aravind Eye Hospital & PG Institute of Ophthalmology, 1, Anna Nagar, Madurai 625 020, Tamil Nadu, India
1 Ms. Uma helped prepare the manuscript and Mr. Selvaraj, the statistical analysis.
ABSTRACT