Posters

H-shaped chopping technique in hard cataract

Poster Details

First Author: A.Abd Al-Sadek Ahmed Sinjab EGYPT

Co Author(s):                     

Abstract Details

Purpose:

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of a new H-shaped chopping technique in hard cataract.

Setting:

Department of Ophthalmology, Sohag University Hospital, Sohag, Egypt.

Methods:

10 eyes of 10 patients aged 60-80 years old with hard cataract (Grade III and IV; lens opacity classification system(LOCS)) underwent phacoemulsification. H-shaped chopping technique entailed initial grooving of the nucleus in H-shaped configuration (two parallel grooves and a connecting groove in between). Each groove had the width equal to phacoprobe, with equal distance in between. The intervening groove connected the two limbs of H-shape and shortly exceeding them peripherally.After deepening; the nucleus could be separated into 6 parts and emulsified as conventional. Outcome measures included BCVA, Specular changes, Corneal edema, US power used, intraoperative and postoperative complications.

Results:

This was a prospective interventional study. BCVA one month postoperatively ranged from 0.6-0.2 in LogMAR, average 0.3. six eyes showed clear cornea from the second postoperative day. Three eyes had mild corneal edema resolved by conservative treatment within two weeks. All these nine eyes showed insignificant decrease in endothelial cell count. Only one eye suffered posterior capsular tear during initial grooving, phacoemulsification completed with special precautions and 3-piece IOL implanted after anterior vitrectomy. That eye showed persistent corneal edema for a month with raised IOP and significant drop in endothelial cell count observed.

Conclusions:

H-shaped chopping technique can be considered as a simple, safe and effective method for dealing with very hard cataract. It does not require additional learning experience. Further large sample studies may be required to address its safety and efficacy.

Financial Disclosure:

None