Corneal endothelial changes following cataract surgery in hard nuclear cataract: Randomized trial comparing phacoemulsification to manual small-incision cataract surgery

PURPOSE: To evaluate and compare endothelial cell changes in phacoemulsification and manual small-incision cataract surgery (MSICS) in patients with uncomplicated senile cataracts. METHODS: This was a prospective, tertiary care hospital-based, randomized, double-blinded interventional study. In total, 152 patients with an uncomplicated senile cataract of nuclear grade III and above were recruited. Exclusion criteria included patients with preoperative endothelial cell density (ECD) less than 1500 cells/mm(3), a history of previous ocular surgery, any other coexisting ocular disease, and intraoperative or postoperative surgical complications. Preoperative and postoperative values of ECD and central corneal thickness (CCT) were measured, analyzed, and correlated with various factors. RESULTS: Patients were randomized into two interventional groups-MSICS and phacoemulsification. Factors associated with significant drop in postoperative ECD following phacoemulsification were patients with advanced age (P = 0.01), higher grades of cataract (P = 0.01), and longer effective phacoemulsification time (P = 0.007). Shallow anterior chamber depth (ACD) was strongly associated with greater ECD loss in both groups (P < 0.0001). A threshold value of 2.86 mm of ACD was defined for minimal endothelial cell loss following phacoemulsification. CCT was observed to slightly increase postoperatively in both groups but was insignificant (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Both MSICS and phacoemulsification have similar postoperative visual outcomes. An increase in postoperative CCT is insignificant following surgery. Greater postoperative ECD loss is associated with phacoemulsification with advanced age, hard nuclear cataracts, and longer effective phacoemulsification time. ACD can be used as an essential parameter preoperatively to determine the choice of surgical technique between MSICS and phacoemulsification.