opposite clear corneal incisions versus steep meridian incision phacoemulsification for correction of pre-existing astigmatism

background: to compare the efficacy of adding an opposite clear corneal incision (occi) on the steep meridian versus performing surgery on the steep meridian alone during phacoemulsification in reducing pre-existing corneal astigmatism in alzahra ophthalmology center. materials and methods: this randomized clinical trial was performed on 40 eyes with corneal astigmatism undergoing phacoemulsification and divided randomly to two groups. in the first group 3.2 mm phacoemulsification incision was made on steep meridian and in the other group after the procedure was completed the surgeon made 3.2 mm incision opposite to the main incision. patients were followed with refraction, keratometry at 1, 4, 12 weeks. results: mean corrected astigmatism was greater in opposite clear corneal incision group than steep meridian incision phacoemulsification group. no significant change occurred in amount of astigmatism in two groups. conclusion: opposite clear corneal incisions achieve an enhanced effect over single clear corneal incisions in treating preexisting astigmatism in cataract patients.