Visual outcome of cataract surgery with pupillary sphincterotomy in eyes with coexisting corneal opacity

BACKGROUND To evaluate the visual outcome following cataract surgery with pupillary sphincterotomy in eyes with coexisting corneal opacity. METHODS Patients with leucomatous corneal opacity with significant cataract were enrolled for the study. The uncorrected visual acuity and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) were recorded and the anterior segment was thoroughly evaluated by a slit lamp biomicroscope before the surgery. Only those patients who had some amount of clear peripheral cornea were selected. Posterior segment pathology was ruled out by indirect ophthalmoscopy after pupillary dilatation, if possible, or by B-scan ultrasonography. Conventional extracapsular cataract extraction with pupillary sphincterotomy was performed and an intraocular lens was implanted. Postoperatively, the eyes were evaluated on day 1, and 1 week and 6 weeks following surgery for similar parameters. RESULTS Fourteen eyes of 14 patients were included in the study, of which 13 (92.85%) patients were male. The mean age of the patients was 47.85 +/- 7.37 years. All the eyes had a dense central leucomatous corneal opacity. Twelve (85.71%) eyes had two or more quadrants of deep vascularisation. Sphincterotomy was performed mostly (71.42%) in the nasal or inferonasal quadrant. The intraocular lens was implanted in 13 (92.85%) eyes, and one (7.1%) eye was left aphakic due to the occurrence of a large posterior capsular tear. Preoperatively, all eyes had BCVA < 6/60. At 6 weeks after surgery, all eyes had BCVA >or= 6/60 and four (28.57%) eyes had BCVA >or= 6/18. The mean BCVA preoperatively in these eyes was 0.015 +/- 0.009, which changed to 0.249 +/- 0.102 at 6 weeks following surgery. CONCLUSIONS Extracapsular cataract extraction and intraocular lens implantation with pupillary sphincterotomy provides ambulatory and useful vision to patients of cataract with coexisting central leucomatous corneal opacity.