Surgical Correction of Astigmatism During Cataract Surgery

Naturally occurring (idiopathic) astigmatism is frequent, with up to 95% of eyes having detectable astigmatism. It is estimated that approximately 70% of the general cataract population has at least 1.00 D of astigmatism, and approximately 33% of patients undergoing cataract surgery are eligible for treatment of preexisting astigmatism.1,2 Today, cataract surgery is regarded as a refractive surgery, aiming pseudophakic emmetropia, which makes eliminating corneal astigmatism critical.3-8 Ferrer-Blasco et al studied prevalance of corneal astigmatism before cataract surgery and found that; in 13.2% of eyes no corneal astigmatism was present; in 64.4%, corneal astigmatism was between 0.25 and 1.25 diopters (D) and in 22.2%, it was 1.50 D or higher.9 This finding implies that, when planning a surgery, both the spherical and the astigmatic components should be taken into account to achieve post-operative outcomes as close to emmetropia as possible. Due to new developments in phacoemulsification devices, changes in operation techniques and the use of small incisions in cataract surgery which reduce the operation-induced astigmatism or make an inconsiderable change in the existing corneal astigmatism, the general aim of cataract surgery has gone from simple cataract extraction to ensuring the best visual acuity and quality without spectacle dependence. With the wide-spread use of phakic, aphakic, bifocal, multifocal and accommodative intraocular lenses (IOLs); all surgeons aim to eliminate any small ametropia, especially astigmatism, existing before or after cataract surgery. There are several techniques for dealing with the pre-existing astigmatism intraoperatively as well as postoperative approaches for dealing with residual or induced astigmatism. However; the most important and critical step in treating the astigmatism is to find out the exact source, magnitude and axis of the astigmatism and making the decision about which technique is appropriate for that patient. The cylindrical component is evaluated by automated and/or manifest refraction, placido ring reflections, keratometry and/or corneal topography and wavefront aberrometry primarily, but other factors need to be taken into account, such as age of the patient and the corneal characteristics of both eyes.