Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Transactions of the American Ophthalmological Society logoLink to Transactions of the American Ophthalmological Society
. 2001;99:187–197.

Change on the horizontal and vertical meridians of the cornea after cataract surgery.

J C Merriam 1, L Zheng 1, J Urbanowicz 1, M Zaider 1
PMCID: PMC1359009  PMID: 11797306

Abstract

PURPOSE: To compare the course and magnitude of change on the horizontal and vertical meridians of the cornea after 5 different incisions for cataract: extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE), 6 mm superior scleral tunnel (6Sup), 3 mm superior scleral tunnel (3Sup), 3 mm temporal scleral tunnel (3Temp), and 3 mm temporal corneal incision (3Cor). METHODS: Retrospective chart review of 665 cases of preoperative regular astigmatism. The preoperative keratometry (K) reading was subtracted from the postoperative K reading to determine mean net change on each meridian at 1 day, 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, 1.5 months, 2 months, 4 months, 6 months and 12 months and at 6 month intervals thereafter. After the superior incisions, the temporal changes on each meridian are well described by an analytic model with an initial and final plateau. The changes after the temporal incisions are described by a linear equation. RESULTS: After each superior incision, the steepness and length of the transition from the initial to final plateau for each meridian depend on incision length. Considering the uncertainty of measuring K, the corneal meridians stabilized 4.5 months after ECCE, 1.2 months after 6Sup, and 0.3 months after 3Sup. No significant change was detected on the horizontal and vertical meridians after 3Temp and 3Cor. CONCLUSION: The magnitude and the duration of changes on the horizontal and vertical meridians of the cornea after cataract surgery depend on both incision length and location. Small temporal incisions induce less change than superior incisions.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (102.2 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Alpins N. Astigmatism analysis by the Alpins method. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2001 Jan;27(1):31–49. doi: 10.1016/s0886-3350(00)00798-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Beasley H. Keratometric changes after cataract surgery. Trans Am Ophthalmol Soc. 1967;65:168–188. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. CRIDLAND N. On post-operative astigmatism. Trans Ophthalmol Soc U K. 1962;82:537–548. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Cravy T. V. Routine use of a lateral approach to cataract extraction to achieve rapid and sustained stabilization of postoperative astigmatism. J Cataract Refract Surg. 1991 Jul;17(4):415–423. doi: 10.1016/s0886-3350(13)80848-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. FLOYD G. Changes in the corneal curvature following cataract extraction. Am J Ophthalmol. 1951 Nov;34(11):1525–1533. doi: 10.1016/0002-9394(51)90156-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Harris W. F. Analysis of astigmatism in anterior segment surgery. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2001 Jan;27(1):107–128. doi: 10.1016/s0886-3350(00)00802-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Harris W. F. Optical effects of ocular surgery including anterior segment surgery. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2001 Jan;27(1):95–106. doi: 10.1016/s0886-3350(00)00803-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Holladay J. T., Cravy T. V., Koch D. D. Calculating the surgically induced refractive change following ocular surgery. J Cataract Refract Surg. 1992 Sep;18(5):429–443. doi: 10.1016/s0886-3350(13)80095-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Holladay J. T., Dudeja D. R., Koch D. D. Evaluating and reporting astigmatism for individual and aggregate data. J Cataract Refract Surg. 1998 Jan;24(1):57–65. doi: 10.1016/s0886-3350(98)80075-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Holladay J. T., Moran J. R., Kezirian G. M. Analysis of aggregate surgically induced refractive change, prediction error, and intraocular astigmatism. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2001 Jan;27(1):61–79. doi: 10.1016/s0886-3350(00)00796-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Kawano K. Modified corneoscleral incision to reduce postoperative astigmatism after 6 mm diameter intraocular lens implantation. J Cataract Refract Surg. 1993 May;19(3):387–392. doi: 10.1016/s0886-3350(13)80311-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Kaye S. B., Patterson A. Analyzing refractive changes after anterior segment surgery. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2001 Jan;27(1):50–60. doi: 10.1016/s0886-3350(00)00801-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Kondrot E. C. Keratometric cylinder and visual recovery following phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation using a self-sealing cataract incision. J Cataract Refract Surg. 1991;17 (Suppl):731–733. doi: 10.1016/s0886-3350(13)80693-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Merriam J. C., Wahlig J. B., Konrad H., Zaider M. Extracapsular cataract extraction and posterior-lip sclerectomy with viscoelastic. Ophthalmic Surg. 1994 Jul;25(7):438–445. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Naeser K., Hjortdal J. Multivariate analysis of refractive data: mathematics and statistics of spherocylinders. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2001 Jan;27(1):129–142. doi: 10.1016/s0886-3350(00)00816-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Naeser K., Hjortdal J. Polar value analysis of refractive data. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2001 Jan;27(1):86–94. doi: 10.1016/s0886-3350(00)00799-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Reading V. M. Astigmatism following cataract surgery. Br J Ophthalmol. 1984 Feb;68(2):97–104. doi: 10.1136/bjo.68.2.97. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Thibos L. N., Horner D. Power vector analysis of the optical outcome of refractive surgery. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2001 Jan;27(1):80–85. doi: 10.1016/s0886-3350(00)00797-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Thornton S. P. Astigmatic keratotomy: a review of basic concepts with case reports. J Cataract Refract Surg. 1990 Jul;16(4):430–435. doi: 10.1016/s0886-3350(13)80795-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Wishart M. S., Wishart P. K., Gregor Z. J. Corneal astigmatism following cataract extraction. Br J Ophthalmol. 1986 Nov;70(11):825–830. doi: 10.1136/bjo.70.11.825. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Zheng L., Merriam J. C., Zaider M. Astigmatism and visual recovery after 'large incision' extracapsular cataract surgery and 'small' incisions for phakoemulsification. Trans Am Ophthalmol Soc. 1997;95:387–415. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. van Rij G., Waring G. O., 3rd Changes in corneal curvature induced by sutures and incisions. Am J Ophthalmol. 1984 Dec 15;98(6):773–783. doi: 10.1016/0002-9394(84)90697-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Transactions of the American Ophthalmological Society are provided here courtesy of American Ophthalmological Society

RESOURCES