Abstract
Purpose: :
Ophthalmic viscoelastic materials are used to protect the corneal endothelium in the overwhelming majority of cataract surgeries performed in developed countries. We hypothesized that visco-free phacoemulsification could be safely performed by using double-blade entry, visco-free capsulorrhexis, endocapsular carouseling, and hydroimplantation.
Methods: :
Retrospective review of five consecutive cases of visco-free cataract surgery from five patients with 2+ cataracts. Visco-free cataract surgery was performed employing double-blade entry, visco-free capsulorrhexis, endocapsular carouseling, and hydroimplantion. Outcome measures included visual acuity, corneal thickness by pachymetry, and endothelial cell density by ConfoScan4 (Nidek, Padova, Italy).
Results: :
All patients demonstrated an improvement in best corrected visual acuity, with the mean best corrected visual acuity at 3 months being 20/28.There was no significant change in pachymetry from baseline during the postoperative course. There was a statistically significant decrease of 13.6% in endothelial cell density at 3 months post-op (p=0.02). This decrease in endothelial cell density is within the range reported in previous evaluations of phacoemulsification.
Conclusions: :
Our results suggest that phacoemulsification without the use of ophthalmic viscosurgical devices can be performed safely and efficiently using double-blade entry, visco-free capsulorrhexis, carouseling in the bag, and hydroimplantation. Long term follow-up and further studies are warranted.
Keywords: cataract • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: systems/equipment/techniques • visual acuity