COMPARISON OF VISCOELASTIC SUBSTANCES USED IN PHACOEMULSIFICATION

Purpose: To evaluate the usefulness of four viscoelastic agents during phacoemulsification: 2% hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) (Methocel (R)), 3% sodium hyaluronate with 4% chondroitin sulfate (Viscoat(R)), 1% sodium hyaluronate (Healon(R)), 1.4% sodium hyaluronate (Healon(R) GV). Setting: Eye Clinic, Kreiskrankenhaus Bad Hersfeld, Germany. Meth ods: Two hundred patients, divided into four groups of 50 patients, re ceived one of the viscoelastic substances during phacoemulsification a nd posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation. Patients were foll owed for 1 month. Visual acuity and intraocular pressure (IOP) were me asured. The following were subjectively evaluated for each viscoelasti c: corneal findings, anterior chamber reaction, visibility of intraocu lar structures and retention time during phacoemulsification, space ma intaining ability, and removability and ease of injection. Results: Po stoperative IOP and visual acuity were comparable among the four group s. Viscoat tended to trap nuclear fragments and air bubbles during the phacoemulsification procedure, which decreased visibility during surg ery. Space maintenance and injection ease were significantly better wi th Healon and Healon GV. Conclusion: The high molecular weight viscoel astics (Healon and Healon GV) performed better as viscosurgical tools during cataract surgery using phacoemulsification.