SMALL INCISION CATARACT SURGERY VERSUS PHACOEMULSIFICATION FOR IMMATURE CATARACT: A SINGLE BLIND RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

BACKGROUND: Manual small incision cataract surgery (SICS) has given visual results almost equivalent to Phacoemulsification but limited studies are available regarding the efficacy of small incision cataract surgery in phaco suitable immature cataracts. OBJECTIVE: To compare manual small incision cataract surgery and Phacoemulsification in immature cataracts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A single blind randomized controlled trial was conducted with 105 eyes each for small incision cataract surgery and Phacoemulsification. RESULT: Mean IOL power was similar in both Phacoemulsifications as well as SICS. Four cases of posterior capsular rupture occurred in Phacoemulsification while one case of zonular dialysis occurred in SICS. Uncorrected visual acuity was good (6/6-6/18) in 80.0 % of the phaco and 93.33 % of the SICS group. CONCLUSION: SICS surgical technique resulted in significantly better visual acuity on the 1st postoperative day in comparison with phaco. Hence, SICS with rigid PMMA IOL implantation being a cheaper, faster and easier technique, may be recommended for immature cataract surgery in the developing countries.