Nine-year safety with self-sealing corneal tunnel incision in clear cornea cataract surgery.

Abstract

To determine the safety of clear cornea cataract surgery using a self-sealing corneal tunnel incision. Prospective noncomparative consecutive case series. A total of 3500 consecutive clear cornea topical anesthesia cataract surgeries performed by one surgeon between January 1994 and May 2003 were included. All cases were operated using phacoemulsification via a temporal 3x2-mm clear cornea cataract incision under topical anesthesia. Cases were evaluated for successful completion and postoperative endophthalmitis, retinal detachment (RD), corneal decompensation, and wound complications requiring a return to the operating room. All 3500 consecutive clear cornea cataract surgery cases performed under topical anesthesia were completed safely. A total of 56 cases (1.6%) required a suture due to wound leakage before completion of the surgery. No cases required a return to the operating room for suture placement. Six cases (0.17%) experienced an RD within a 30-day postoperative period. There were no cases of endophthalmitis or corneal decompensation detected. For the past 9 years, we have found that clear cornea cataract surgery performed under topical anesthesia is safe and results in few postoperative complications.