Astigmatic and refractive stabilization after cataract surgery.

We assessed the timing of astigmatic and refractive stabilization following six cataract surgery procedures with intraocular lens implantation in 229 eyes divided into six groups in the following incision sizes and methods of wound closure: 11-mm incision with running suture closure (26 eyes) 6.5-mm incision with running suture closure (29 eyes) 6.5-mm incision with single horizontal suture closure (25 eyes) 6.5-mm incision without suture closure (46 eyes) 5.5-mm incision without suture closure (51 eyes) 3.2-mm incision without suture closure (52 eyes) Analyzed up to 6 months postoperatively were: the mean and standard deviation of axis-based keratometric cylinders the absolute value of the induced-cylinder vector the spherical equivalent of the refractive power. In the 11- and 6.5-mm incision running suture groups, these parameters did not stabilize during the study period. In the 6.5-mm incision horizontal suture and sutureless groups, the values stabilized at 3 months postoperatively; in the 5.5-mm incision group, at 1 month; and in the 3.2-mm incision group, at 2 weeks. These results indicate that the appropriate point at which to prescribe postoperative correction spectacles differs significantly depending on the procedure, and that smaller incisions with wound-closure methods that do not exert vertical force are associated with fewer postoperative refractive changes.