Proper wound construction to prevent short-term ocular hypotony after clear corneal incision cataract surgery

To evaluate the stability of 2.2 mm and 3.0 mm clear corneal cataract incisions with square or nearly square surface architecture.

Private practice ambulatory surgical center, Century City, California, USA.

A retrospective chart review of 60 patients who had clear corneal cataract extraction between January and September 2006 was conducted. Fifty patients had clear corneal cataract extraction with a square 2.2 mm incision and 10 patients with a nearly square 3.0 mm incision. For the 2.2 mm incision subset, cataract surgery and intraocular lens implantation were accomplished through an unenlarged 2.2 mm clear corneal cataract incision using the Alcon Infiniti unit and an Ultrasleeve for infusion. For the 3.0 mm subset, the Allergan Sovereign unit was used. Intraocular pressure (IOP) was measured intraoperatively at the conclusion of each procedure with a Schiötz or Barraquer tonometer and set between 15 mm Hg and 20 mm Hg. Wound sealing was confirmed by intraoperative Seidel testing in all cases. Intraocular pressure was measured by a Tono-Pen (Medtronic) or Goldmann applanation tonometry between 2 hours and 6 hours after the conclusion of each procedure.

The mean postoperative IOP was 19.2 mm Hg +/- 4.9 (SD) (median 18 mm Hg; range 11 to 35 mm Hg) in the group with a 2.2 mm square incision and 16.6 +/- 5.2 mm Hg (median 16.0 mm Hg; range 10 to 25 mm Hg) in the group with a 3.0 mm nearly square clear corneal incision. No patient had an IOP less than 10 mm Hg, and there was no evidence of hypotony or wound leakage by Seidel testing in either group.

Clear corneal wounds of square or nearly square surface architecture that are meticulously checked for sealing were stable postoperatively as demonstrated by the absence of hypotony and wound leakage. In the presence of a sealed clear corneal wound, IOP remained reasonably stable relative to the level set at the conclusion of the procedure.