Selective suture cutting for control of astigmatism following cataract surgery

Use of 10-0 monofilament nylon in ECCE cataract surgery leads to high with the rule astigmatism. Many intraoperative and post operative methods have been used to minimise post operative astigmatism. We did selective suture cutting in 38 consecutive patients. Mean keratometric astigmatism at three and six weeks post operative was 5.76 and 5.42 dioptres (D) respectively. 77.5% of eyes had astigmatism above 2 D. Selective suture cutting along the axis of the plus high cylinder was done after six weeks of surgery. Mean post suture cutting keratometric astigmatism was 3.3 D and 70% of the eyes had astigmatism below 2 D. After 3 months of surgery mean keratometric astigmatism was reduced to 1.84 D. Axis of the astigmatism also changed following suture cutting. 40% of the eyes showed improvement in their Snellen acuity following reduction in the cylindrical power.