Asymmetric L-shaped corneal no-stitch tunnel incisions for cataract surgery

To assess whether a unilateral asymmetric radial enlargement of a corneal tunnel incision for implantation of foldable intraocular lenses yields advantages over conventional linear enlargements.

Department of Ophthalmology, University of Brussels, VUB, Belgium.

Asymmetric corneal tunnel incisions with an L-shaped entrance and a concave exit were compared with equivalent conventional linear incisions in patients and in postmortem eyes.

The asymmetric no-stitch L-designs scored consistently better than the symmetric linear designs in induced astigmatism, postoperative astigmatic shift, complications, and pressure resistance.

An asymmetric corneal L-incision is superior to a conventional symmetric linear incision.