The Terry surgical keratometer: a 12-month follow-up report.

Postoperative astigmatism was studied in two groups of patients. All patients had undergone phacoemulsification with implantation of a posterior chamber intraocular lens. The incision closure techniques in both groups were identical, with one exception: One group was closed using the Terry keratometer intraoperatively, the second group was closed without the use of this instrument. Two observations are made from the twelve-month data. First, astigmatic error in the Terry group remained constant from the postoperative keratometer readings at six weeks to the twelve-month keratometer readings. Second, while there was a considerable difference in astigmatism at six weeks between the Terry group and the control group (less astigmatism in the Terry group), the differences were no longer apparent at twelve months. Sutures were removed as necessary to improve astigmatism in the control group. No sutures were cut in the Terry group during this twelve-month period.