The Narrow Way

Even for those still convinced of the technical importance of microincisional cataract surgery, it is indisputable that the procedure has not gained wide acceptance among cataract surgeons. Problems include its greater complexity and surgical time compared with a standard coaxial approach. In our 1-year study of the results with microincisional cataract surgery, surgical time was 35 longer than with traditional phaco surgery.¹ At 1 year postoperatively, the decrease in endothelial cell counts was 6.02 with standard phacoemulsification versus 14.29 with microincisional cataract surgery. Moreover, currently available microincisional instrumentation is inadequate, and maneuvering it is challenging.