[Evolution of cataract surgery: smaller incision--less complications].

BACKGROUND/AIM Cataract surgery has become one of the safest procedures in medicine thanks to advances in technology and surgical techniques. Although minimal, we still witness different complications. The aim of this study was to compare visual outcome and complication rate in different techniques of cataract surgery, ie in cataract surgeries with various corneal incision width. METHODS The study included 3,457 consecutive patients, ie 4,670 eyes that had undergone cataract surgery. The used surgical techniques were: extracapsular cataract extraction, phacoemulsification/forceps IOL implantation, phacoemulsification/injector IOL implantation, microincision cataract surgery (MICS). Patient follow up was 6 months. Patients were evaluated for: visual aquity, corneal astigmatism, cellular reaction in the anterior chamber, IOL position. RESULTS Uncorrected visual aquity 30 days postoperatively was > or = 0.5 in 30% of the eyes - ECCE; 54.7% of the eyes - phacoemulsification/forceps IOL implantation; 63.0% of the eyes - phacoemulsification/injector IOL implantation; 5/8 of the eyes - MICS. Endophthalmitis was detected in 0.15% of the eyes - ECCE and 0.1% of the eyes - phacoemulsification/forceps IOL implantation. In eyes with phacoemulsification/injector IOL implantation or microincision cataract surgery (MICS) there were no cases of endophthalmitis. After a 6-month period intraocular lens were dislocated in 7.2% of the eyes - ECCE, and 0.6% of the eyes - phacoemulsification/PMMA IOL. There was no IOL dislocation in other surgical techniques. CONCLUSION Shorter corneal incision implies less complications, less operative trauma, faster visual rehabilitation and better visual outcome.