title: Determination of maximal incision length for true small-incision surgery.
abstract: We studied induced astigmatism in cadaver eyes to determine how small a limbal incision must be to avoid a long-term corneal flattening induced by limbal incisions along the meridian of the incision. We performed scleral pocket incisions (2.0 to 5.5 mm in 0.5-mm increments) on 12 fresh human cadaver globes, recessing the incisions 0.5 mm to simulate the natural wound sliding that causes corneal flattening. We found that with increasing incision length there was a nearly linear increase in corneal flattening. The maximal incision length that minimized induction of corneal flattening in excess of 0.25 diopters was 3.0 mm.
authors.affiliation: Cullen Eye Institute, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030.
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Samuelson
authors.forename: D D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Kuglen
mesh_terms: D001251:Astigmatism / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002387:Cataract Extraction / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008866:Microsurgery / Q000379:methods; D012590:Sclera / Q000601:surgery*