Radial suture stabilized by fibrin glue to correct preoperative against-the-rule astigmatism during cataract surgery

We evaluated the efficacy of using a modified wound-closure technique in cataract surgery to reduce presurgical against-the-rule (ATR) astigmatism. Seventy-seven eyes received a radial 10-0 nylon suture in the axis of the preexisting ATR cylinder, combined with an application of fibrin glue to stabilize the wound. A control group of 76 patients with comparable preoperative ATR astigmatism was operated on in the same manner, but only fibrin glue and no suture was used for wound closure. The mean induced astigmatism in these two groups differed by 0.42 diopters, a significant difference (P < .05). In the cases with preoperative astigmatism greater than 1.00 D, the difference between the two groups, again a significant one, was 0.73 (P < .05).