Comparative study between torsional phacoemulsification and longitudinal phacoemulsification in their effect on corneal endothelium using specular microscopy.

Abstract

Background The cornea is formed of 5 layers, Endothelium is that most posterior layer which is responsible for keeping cornea dehydrated. Loss of corneal endothelium is a sideeffect of many cataract surgeries that may influence postoperative visual outcome of the patients. Our study aims to compare torsional phacoemulsification and longitudinal phacoemulsification in their effect on corneal endothelium using specular microscopy. Patients and Methods We will compare the corneal endothelium parameters (central density of cells & cell loss, alterations in shape & size) afterward torsional phacoemulsification and longitudinal phacoemulsification in this prospective randomized study. 50 eyes with nuclear cataracts in grades 1 through 3 will be included in our study Results The P value for the comparison of the percentage of endothelial cell loss between the torsional and longitudinal Phaco groups was 0.09, indicating that there was no statistically significant difference (> 0.05) between the two groups. Conclusion On comparing both categories of phacoemulsification, we have found no statistically significant difference regarding endothelial cell loss and postoperative BCVA, therefore we concluded that both phacoemulsification types are safe, so the type of phacoemulsification to be used is determined according to the preference and experience of the surgeon.