[Effect of different clear corneal incision sites on surgery efficacy and anterior segment parameters in patients...

To determine the safe distance range of clear corneal incision (CCI) from the corneal limbus and how different CCI sites affect surgery efficacy and anterior segment parameters in patients undergoing phacoemulsification.

This retrospective case-control study was conducted in 44 patients (44 eyes) undergoing phacoemulsification and IOL implantation. The patients were divided into two groups with CCI distances ranging from 1 mm to 1.5 mm (group A, n= 22) and from 0.5 mm to 1.0 mm (group B, n= 22). The visual acuity, surgically induced astigmatism (SIA), corneal aberration, and anterior segment parameters were analyzed.

Compared with the preoperative data, all the patients showed significant improvements in the postoperative uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), anterior chamber depth (ACD), and anterior chamber angle (ACA) after the surgery (P < 0.05). No significant differences were found between the two groups in postoperative UCVA, BCVA, SIA, total corneal aberration RMS, lower- and higher-order aberration RMS, spherical aberration (Z₄⁰), horizontal three leaf clover (Z₃³), vertical three leaf clover(Z₃^-3), horizontal coma(Z₃¹), vertical coma(Z₃^-1), ACD, ACA, anterior chamber volume, or central corneal thickness (P>0.05).

Phacoemulsification is an effective therapy for cataract with a CCI distance range either of 1-1.5 mm or 0.5-1.0 mm. These two CCI distance ranges produce no significant differences in the visual quality following phacoemulsification, indicating that a CCI distance range of 0.5-1.5 mm can be safe for phacoemulsification.