Comparison between postoperative astigmatism after classic extracapsular lens extraction and after phacoemulsification with implantation of a Pearce tripod or Pearce vaulted Y-loop intraocular lens.

We compared the surgically induced astigmatism after standard extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE) with the astigmatism following cataract extraction by phacoemulsification. The surgically induced corneal astigmatism was assessed on several occasions, ranging from one day to one year postoperatively. After phacoemulsification, this astigmatism was considerably slighter than after ECCE on day 1 postoperatively and after two and six weeks. However, one year postoperatively, this difference was less clear. We then measured slight against-the-rule astigmatism for both surgical techniques.