REDUCTION OF SURGICALLY INDUCED CORNEAL ASTIGMATISM FOLLOWING SUTURE DISSECTION BY ARGON-LASER APPLICATION

In a group of 68 consecutive cases of high surgically induced corneal astigmatism following extracapsular cataract extraction or phacoemulsification, single limbal sutures were released by argon laser. Visual acuity and refractive results 2-6 weeks after treatment were compared to those before laser application. The effect of suture dissection was analyzed according to the number of sutures released, the follow-up time from cataract surgery and previous corneal astigmatism. The effect of suture dissection was not dependent on the interval from surgery up to 20 weeks postoperatively. The reduction in astigmatism amounts 2.25 dptr up to 8 weeks, occasionally 2.5 dptr 8-10 and 11-16 weeks after surgery, and 1.75 dptr up to 20 weeks thereafter (mean values). The longer the interval the more sutures had to be released. If only one suture was dissected, the reduction in astigmatism amounted 1.75 dptr (mean), if two sutures were released the effect was 2.5 dptr, three or more dissected sutures lead to a 3.4-dptr reduction in corneal astigmatism. The axis of astigmatism did not change in 52 of 59 cases, but in some subjects oblique astigmatism appeared after suture dissection.