Objectives: The main purpose of the study was to make a comparative analysis of phacoemulsification cataract surgery with rigid and foldable IOLs in terms of safety, efficacy and final visual outcome.

Material and Methods: A retrospective analytical study was conducted on102 patients who were operated for senile cataract over a period of six months with phacoemulsification technique. A total of 102 eyes of 102  patients  were reviewed  which included  52 camp patients who  had rigid PMMA intraocular lens (IOL) implantation (Group A) and 50  patients  with foldable IOL implantation (Group B). The final outcome measures were the uncorrected visual acuity UCVA on day one, best corrected visual acuity BCVA at 6 weeks, the surgical induced astigmatism (SIA) at 6 weeks, the intra operative and postoperative complications.

Results: The post-operative UCVA at day 1 was 6/18 or better in 69.2% in group A and 76.0% in group B (p = 0.294). Post-operative BCVA at 6 weeks was 6/6-6/9 in 73.1% patients in group A and 84.0% patients in group B. The mean SIA at week 6 in group A was1.10D (0.51SD) and 0.71D (0.32SD) in group B (p< 0.001). Average surgery time was 11.27 min (2.98) in group A and 10.97min (2.66) in group B ( p = 0.593).  Both groups were comparable in terms of both intraoperative (p = 0.893) and post-operative complications (p= 0.721)             .

Conclusions: Our study has shown that though there was a statistically significant difference in terms of surgically induced astigmatism, the final visual outcome was comparable in the two groups. Phacoemulsification with cheaper rigid PMMA IOL impalntation in camp patients is equally safe and effective and could be a viable option  for patients in developing countries where cost of expensive foldable IOLs is an important issue.

Keywords: Camp, phacoemulsification, intraocular lens, visual acuity, astigmatism.

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Dr Rupali Tyagi (Astt. Prof)

Shri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Medical and Health Sciences (SGRRIMHS), Dehradun, Uttrakhand, India

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