Astigmatic changes after sutureless small-incision cataract-surgery using a superior or temporal corneal incision

The main purpose of this study is to compare the difference in surgically induced astigmatism and stability in sutureless small-incision cataract-surgery with a superior or a temporal approach. Using the Cravy- Jaffe- and Naeser-method for calculating surgically induced astigmatism, we evaluated astigmatic changes in eyes that underwent sutureless small-incision cataract surgery via the superior (66 eyes of 65 patients) or the temporal (39 eyes of 39 patients) approach. In the early postoperative period, our calculations showed a typical against the rule-shift in the corneal superior group, while the corneal temporal group showed a slight with-the-rule shift. The temporal approach proved to be more stable and provoked less induced astigmatism than the superior approach.