Amount of Surgically Induced Astigmatism after Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery

Purpose: To assess the amount of surgically induced astigmatism after manual small incision cataract surgery. Method: A hospital based observational study done on 30 patients aged above 50 years, diagnosed with Senile Cataract undergoing manual small incision cataract surgery with a superior straight incision of 5.5-6. 5mm. Corneal Curvatures measured using Bausch and Lomb Keratometer pre and post op day 1,4 and 6 weeks. Surgically Induced Astigmatism calculated using SIA calculator version 2.1, a free software program by Dr. Saurabh Sawhney and Dr. Ashima Aggarwal. Results: 21 patients (70%) had pre-op Against the rule Astigmatism and 9(30%) had With the rule Astigmatism with 36.6% patients between 0.5-1D. Surgically Induced Astigmatism at the end of 6 weeks is 1.13?0.49 with a p-value of 0.015 Conclusion: This study concludes that superior straight incision of 5.5-6.5mm causes significant Surgically Induced Astigmatism, so better intra operative decisions can be taken regarding incision approach and size for improved post operative visual outcome.