Abstract:
To study the effect of phacoemulsification (phaco) time andpower on post–operative visual acuity (VA) in small incisioncataract extraction.
This is a retrospective chart review of 75 consecutive eyesthat underwent phaco using the Alcon Infiniti machine, from8/2004 – 11/2004. All surgeries were done by one of twosurgeons, using a divide and conquer method. There were no exclusions.
Of the 75 eyes, we assessed the effect of total phaco time onthe post–operative day one (POD1) VA and the final documentedpost–operative (FPO) VA (typically, at one month). Thepatients were divided into 6 groups based on phaco time. Thepercentage of patients achieving a POD1 and FPO VA of 20/30or better are shown in Table 1.
We then determined the effect of total phaco power on POD1 VAand FPO VA. The patients were divided into 5 groups based onphaco power. The percentage of patients achieving a POD1 andFPO VA of 20/30 or better are shown in Table 2.
We place emphasis on minimizing phaco time and power to obtainimproved post–operative outcomes. Our study assesses theeffect of phaco time and power on post–operative VA. Weconclude that a lower phaco time, specifically less than 1:30m, correlates with an improved visual outcome on POD1. At theFPO, patients reaching a VA of 20/30 or better was similar amongstthe groups, aside from the patients with a phaco time greaterthan 3 m. A lower percentage of those patients had FPO VA of20/30 or better.
When assessing phaco power, we conclude that at powers of upto 20%, a similar number of patients reached a post–operativeVA of 20/30 or better, both on POD1 and at the FP.
Keywords: clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: outcomes/complications • cataract