Phacoemulsification in cases with corneal opacity

Purpose: To assess the results of phacoemulsification in patients with corneal opacity and cataract. Material and Method: Fifteen eyes of 13 patients who were diagnosed as senile cataract and corneal opacity were included in the present study. All surgeries were performed under topical anesthesia. Trypan blue (0.1%) was used during the capsulorrhexis step of phacoemulsification. Following hydrodissection, phacoemulsification was performed using "quick chop" technique. Postoperatively, the patients were evaluated at 1st day, 1st week and 1st month. Preoperative and postoperative best-corrected visual acuities, intraoperative problems, as well as postoperative follow-up data were recorded. Results: Nine male and four female patients were included in the study group. The mean age was 68.77±8.79 years. Capsulorrhexis and phacoemulsification were completed successfully in all patients. The mean best-corrected visual acuity was 0.1±0.09 preoperatively, whereas it was found to be 0.3±0.2 at the first month postoperatively. Discussion: This study points out that in selected patients with cataract and corneal opacity, cataract surgery only could be effective in providing functional visual acuity. In these cases, trypan blue provides great convenience during capsulorrhexis.