A Comparative Study of Visual Outcomes between Extracapsular Cataract Extraction and Phacoemulsification in Somdejprasangkharach XVII Hospital, Suphanburi Province, Thailand - เปรียบเทียบผลการผ่าตัดต้อกระจกใส่เลนส์แก้วตาเทียม ด้วยวิธี Extracapsular Cataract Extraction และ Phacoemulsification ในโรงพยาบาลสมเด็จพระสังฆราชองค์ที่ 17

Abstract

         Cataract is a leading cause of blindness in Thailand. The treatment is cataract extraction and intraocular lens (IOL) implantation. Phacoemulsification is considered a well-known surgical procedure, extracapsular cataract extraction is still one of the most performed surgeries in case of dense cataract. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the surgical outcomes of both procedures. A prospective quasi-experimental research study was conducted in 50 patients in each group. General data, pre- and postoperative visual acuity in 1stday, 1stweek, 1stmonth and 3rdmonth, intraoperative and postoperative complication, keratometries were recorded and analyzed. It was found that the preoperative visual acuity was similar in both groups. The patients who undergone phacoemulsification achieved better vision than that of the ECCE’s. Intraoperative complications were more in phacoemulsification than extracapsular cataract, but the residual astigmatism were less in the phacoemulsification group. Therefore, phacoemulsification should be promoted because of its better surgical outcomes; and thus, early screening
process should be performed in elderly people before developing dense cataract which will not be suitable for the phacoemulsification operation.
Key words: extracapsular cataract extraction, phacoemulsification