Comparison of Manual Small-Incision Cataract Surgery and Phacoemulsification Cataract Surgery in Resident Setting
Narrative Responses:
Purpose
Purpose of this study is to compare resident performed Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery (MSICS) to Phacoemulsification Cataract Surgery.
Methods
This is a retrospective study comparing 7 consecutive manual small incision cataract surgeries to 7 consecutive phacoemulsification cataract surgeries performed at our training institution. The surgeries took place between 3/2013 and 9/2013. The paramaters of best corrected visual acuity at distance, corneal edema, anterior chamber inflammation, incidence of pseudophakic bullous keratopathy, post-op cystoid macular edema and posterior capsular opacities at 1 week, 1 month and 3 months post-operatively were compared between the 2 cohorts, in addition to the intraoperative incidence of posterior capsular rupture. The pre-op and post-op month 3 K-values were also obtained using the Topcon KR-8900 Auto-Keratorefractor.
Results
The incidence of intraoperative posterior capsular rupture and post-operative cystoid macular edema was found to be smaller in the MSICS cohort. Final statistical analysis is still pending.
Conclusion
Manual Small Incision Cataract surgery (MSICS) is safe and efficacious compared to phacoemulsification cataract surgery in the resident setting. Further studies with larger cohorts are needed to validate our findings. This may encourage the future utilization of MSICS for certain cataracts not amenable to phacoemulsification.