Purpose: To compare the surgically induced astigmatism (SIA) and endothelial cell loss following conventional extracapsular cataract surgery (ECCE), manual small-incision cataract surgery (Blumenthal technique)(SICS) and phacoemulsification (PE) with non-foldable intraocular lens implantation.

Methods: 186 cataractous eyes with nuclear sclerosis grade 3 or less were randomized to undergo ECCE, SICS or PE with intraocular lens (non-foldable) implantation after a detailed pre-operative assessment. Keratometry and specular microscopy were performed pre-operatively and 6 weeks postoperatively. Surgically induced astigmatism was calculated using the rectangular coordinate method (Holladay et al.).

Results: Mean endothelial cell loss was similar for all three groups (p = 0.855); ECCE induced a loss of 4.72% (SD: 13.07); SICS 4.21% (SD: 10.29) and PE 5.41% (SD: 10.99). Mean SIA was 1.77D (1.61D) for the ECCE group, 1.17D (0.95D) for the SICS group and 0.77D (0.65D) for the PE group (p = 0.001). The magnitude of the difference between the SICS and the PE group was 0.4D.

Conclusion: PE induced less astigmatism than SICS and ECCE in this study but the magnitude of the difference between SICS and PE was small. There was no significant difference in endothelial cell loss between the three groups.