title: Astigmatism induced by oblique clear corneal incision: right vs. left eyes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To compare the induced astigmatism after phacoemulsification in the right vs. the left eye.
  
  
  METHODS
  An oblique clear corneal incision was made in a superotemporal location in the right (n = 344) and a superonasal location in the left (n = 292) eye. Retrospectively, patient characteristics, pre- and postoperative visual acuity, and induced astigmatism values were compared. Statistical analysis was performed with the Student t , chi2, and Mann-Whitney U tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The proportion of against-the-rule astigmatism and surgically induced astigmatism values were significantly larger in the left-eye group (p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Surgically induced astigmatism occurred to a greater extent in the left eyes compared with the right, possibly because of structural differences.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Baskent University, Adana, Turkey. raltanya@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Rana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Altan-Yaycioglu
authors.forename: Aysel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pelit
authors.forename: Ozcan
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Evyapan
authors.forename: Yonca A
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Akova
mesh_terms: D001251:Astigmatism / Q000209:etiology*; D003315:Cornea / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018918:Phacoemulsification / Q000379:methods*; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014792:Visual Acuity