title: Manual small incision extracapsular cataract surgery in Australia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Examination of the results and describing the technique of manual small incision extracapsular cataract extraction on patients with advanced cataracts in urban Australia.
  
  
  METHODS
  A descriptive case series.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-eight patients at three public hospitals, one tertiary and two secondary ophthalmic units in urban Australia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty eyes with dense mature cataracts with hand movement vision or worse underwent a planned manual small incision extracapsular cataract extraction instead of traditional phaco-emulsification.
  
  
  METHODS
  Postoperative visual aquity, surgically induced astigmatism and complications.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy-eight per cent of patients had an uncorrected visual acuity of 6/12 or better on the first postoperative day. Eighty-three per cent of patients had a distance corrected visual acuity of 6/9 or better 3 months postoperatively. One case was complicated by a posterior capsule rupture. No cases of endophthalmitis were reported. The summated vector mean of the surgically induced astigmatism was 0.089D at 93°.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Manual small incision extracapsular cataract extraction is an efficacious cataract surgery technique with good visual outcome and is a safe alternative to phaco-emulsification in suitable cases in a first-world setting.
authors.affiliation: South Australian Institute of Ophthalmology, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Lourens
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: van Zyl
authors.forename: Shyalle
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kahawita
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goggin
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001251:Astigmatism / Q000503:physiopathology; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D002386:Cataract / Q000453:epidemiology; D002387:Cataract Extraction / Q000379:methods*; D019049:Developed Countries; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007431:Intraoperative Complications; D008297:Male; D008866:Microsurgery / Q000379:methods*; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology
keywords: cataract; manual cataract surgery; manual small incision cataract surgery; phaco-emulsification