Outcome after Small Incision Cataract Surgery (Sics) and Phacoemulsification at Kigali University Teaching Hospital

ABSTRACT

Purpose: To determine the visual outcome and complications related to small incision cataract surgery and phacoemulsification at Kigali University Teaching Hospital. Methods: A retrospective study carried out on 644 eyes of 390 patients from January 2008 to January 2014 at KUTH. All patients with senile cataract operated with SICS or phacoemulsification at KUTH were included. Records on all examinations including visual acuity; refraction; biometry; slit lamp biomicroscopy and fundoscopy from the period before surgery up to 6 months post-operatively were obtained. Results: The final BCVA of 6/18 or more at 6-months after surgery was 90 on the RE and 82.6 on LE as compared to the pre-operative BCVA of 14.2 on the RE and 12.5 on the LE. Both types of surgery had similar post-operative outcome; respectively at 1; 3 and 6 months post-operatively (p=0.09; 0.19 and 0.12). The most common treatable complications were minimal hyphema and corneal edema; with a complete healing during the fist week of steroid treatment. There was no statistically significant difference in the complications rate between both types of surgery (P=0.28). Conclusion: Small incision cataract surgery and phacoemulsification had similar visual outcomes post-operatively; however phacoemulsification provided better UCVA at 3 months after surgery. Hyphema and corneal edema were the most common treatable complications that healed at the fist week after cataract surgery