Original Research Article Indian Journal of Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology, July-September,2016;2(3): 186-189 186 A comparative study of effect of SICS and phacoemulsification on corneal endothelium Shrikant Deshpande 1 , Neeraj Israni 2,* , Swetha Narayanam 3 , Nitesh Bhalla 4 1,2,3,4 Dept. of Ophthalmology, MGM Medical College & Hospital, Maharashtra *Corresponding Author: Email: drneerajisrani@gmail.com Abstract Introduction: Senile cataract has been documented to be the most significant cause of bilateral blindness in India. The aim of cataract surgery is no longer restricted to just visual restoration, but is now considered to be a refractive surgery i.e. to achieve a state of emmetropia. Preservation of corneal endothelial function is a major goal in cataract surgery. Objectives: Present study aims to highlight the importance of measurement of central corneal thickness and compares the effect of SICS vs Phacoemulsification on corneal endothelium. Material and Methods: This was a prospective study consisting of 101 patients who presented to the department of Ophthalmology, who fulfill inclusion criteria and are willing to enroll in the study. Standard uneventful small incision cataract surgery was done on 51 patients and standard uneventful clear corneal phacoemulsification was done on 50 patients. Change in central corneal thickness was observed post-surgery on day 7 th and day 30 th . This study was conducted over a period of two years. Results: Both groups showed increase in CCT values on post-operative day 7 indicating some endothelial cell disturbances, but the increase in CCT was comparable between the two groups. At day 30 there was a decrease in CCT value as compared to day 7, the decrease was more in SICS as compared to PHACO, but the difference between the two groups was statistically insignificant. Keywords: Cataract, Central Corneal Thickness, Corneal Endothelium, SICS, PHACO Access this article online Website: www.innovativepublication.com DOI: 10.5958/2395-1451.2016.00041.X Introduction Senile cataract has been documented to be the most significant cause of bilateral blindness in India. The most recent estimates from World Health Organization (WHO) reveal that 47.8% of global blindness is due to cataract. In India cataract is the principal cause of blindness accounting for 62.6%. The key to the success of the Global Vision 2020: The right to sight initiative is a special effort to tackle cataract blindness which includes estimation of magnitude of the problem and understanding factors associated with it 1 . The burden of global cataract blindness continues to rise, because the number of surgical ophthalmologists is insufficient, and they are unevenly distributed. Hence there is an urgent need to train surgeons quickly and comprehensively in high-quality, low-cost cataract removal techniques 2 . Management of this age-old impairment of vision requires surgical treatment in the form of manual removal of the lens which is either by intracapsular lens extraction or extracapsular lens extraction (small incision cataract surgery) or by phacoemulsification with intra-ocular lens (IOL) implantation. The aim of cataract surgery is no longer restricted to just visual restoration, but is now considered to be a refractive surgery i.e. to achieve a state of emmetropia. Because of these changing trends regarding results of cataract surgery, the surgical technique has revolutionized rapidly. Recent advances in cataract surgery have reduced the incidence of corneal complications; however this new technology has also led to various new complications like mechanical or toxic injury to endothelium 3 . Moderate damage to the endothelium during surgery can lead to a transient increase in corneal thickness. Detrugescene of the corneal stroma is controlled by the pumping action of the endothelial layer and can be monitored by measurement of central corneal thickness. Loss or damage of endothelial cells leads to an increase in corneal thickness, which may ultimately induce corneal decompensation and loss of vision 4 . Careful attention during cataract surgery and in the post-operative period can prevent most corneal complications. In India from around 1.2 million cataract surgeries per year in the 1980s, the cataract surgical output increased to 3.9 million per year by 2003. Therefore, it is important to determine a safe, quick and cost effective surgical technique which will lead to lesser post-operative complications 5 . Both phacoemulsification and SICS achieve excellent visual outcomes with low complication rates and SICS is significantly faster, less expensive, and less technology dependent than phacoemulsificat- ion. Therefore it may be a preferred surgical procedure for the treatment of cataracts in the developing world 6 . Preservation of corneal endothelial function is a major goal in cataract surgery as literature proves that