Limbal relaxing incisions to correct preexisting astigmatism during cataract surgery

Purpose. - To evaluate the effectiveness of limbal relaxing incisions for correcting significant preoperative astigmatism during cataract surgery. Methods. - In 32 patients (50 eyes) with preoperative keratometric astigmatism between 1.25 and 2.5 D, cataract surgery was combined with limbal relaxing incisions according to a modified Gills nomogram. Results. - The mean preoperative keratometric astigmatism was 1.6 (+/- 0.39) D. The mean preoperative manifest refraction was 1.26 (+/- 0.39) D. The mean 1-month, 6-month and 3-year or more postoperative keratometric astigmatisms were 0.77 (+/- 0.29), 0.84 (+/- 0.5) and 0.86 (+/- 0.32) D, respectively. The mean postoperative manifest refractions were 0.48 (+/- 0.32), 0.55 (+/- 0.29) and 0.54 (+/- 0.29) D, respectively. Postoperative refractive astigmatisms were 0 or 0.25 D in 22% of the cases, 0.5 or 0.75 D in 64% and greater than 0.75 D in 14%. Conclusion. - Limbal relaxing incisions are an effective and simple approach to the correction of significant preoeprative astigmatism during cataract surgery. (C) 2009 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.