Corneal refractive changes after acrysof lens versus PMMA lens implantation.

PURPOSE: Do foldable acrylic lenses yield not only reduced posterior capsular opacification but also significant refractive advantages? PATIENTS AND METHODS: 147 cataract patients including 47 with spherical corneas and 100 with preoperative astigmatism of 0.8 +/- 0. 7 dpt were treated in one of two ways: 70 patients received 5.5-mm Acrysof lens implants through 3.2-mm outer and 4-mm inner temporal clear corneal openings (stretch incision); 77 patients received 5-mm PMMA lenses through temporal clear corneal incisions of 4.1-mm outer and 6.5-mm inner diameter incisions. Corneal topography was examined in all patients before the operations as well as 3 days and 6 months after the operations.
RESULTS: 6 months after the operations, we observed a surgically induced astigmatism of 0.4 +/- 0.2 dpt for the 3.2-mm incisions compared to 0.8 +/- 0.7 dpt for the 4.1-mm incisions; evaluation according to Holladay of the preoperative spherical corneas yielded a with-the-wound change of 0.0 +/- 0.3 dpt after 3.2-mm incisions versus 0.6 +/- 0.7 dpt after 4.1-mm incisions. The difference in astigmatism for the two types of incisions was statistically significant (p = 0.001).
CONCLUSION: Acrysof lens implantation is especially useful for patients with spherical corneas because of avoidance of postoperative astigmatism. The 4. 1-mm corneal incision using PMMA lens implants can be used on the steep meridian to reduce preoperative astigmatism. Copyright 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel

RCT Entities:   Population Interventions Outcomes