Purpose: To investigate the clinical outcome during the conversion from small incision sutureless cataract surgery (SICS) to phacoemulsfication cataract surgery (Phaco).
Methods: During the conversion period from SICS to phaco, 241 cataract cases were assigned to SICS and phaco surgery procedures. The intraoperative complications and early postoperative outcome were assessed.
Results: The 1st day visual acuity outcome (VA 0.5 or better) was lower in phaco grouop (p<0.05), however, the visual acuity outcomes were no longer statistically different at 1 week and 1 month visits (p>0.05 for each visit). Among 193 cases operations in phaco group, 51 cases (26.4%) developed corneal edema at 1 day visit, 13 cases(6.7%) had posterior capsular rapture, 5 cases(2.6%) had zonular rupture, 5 cases (2.6%) failed to implant IOL. These rates were higher than what were found in SICS group.
Conclusions: The outcome of phaco cataract surgery is comparable with SICS during this conversion period. Techniques that the surgeons may pay attention to are also discussed.