A PROSPECTIVE CONTROLLED-STUDY OF A 10 0 ABSORBABLE POLYGLACTIN SUTURE FOR CORNEAL INCISION PHACOEMULSIFICATION/

Purpose To evaluate the performance of a 10/0 monofilament absorbable polyglactin suture for temporal 5.2 mm corneal incision phacoemulsific ation. Methods A prospective randomised controlled study of 49 patient s undergoing phacoemulsification with a sutured temporal 5.2 mm cornea l section was conducted to compare the refractive results and complica tions of a 10/0 monofilament absorbable polyglactin suture with 10/0 n ylon. Results Thirty-eight patients completed the study. There was no significant difference in induced astigmatism between the two groups. All absorbable sutures were intact at 1 week. Six weeks post-operative ly the absorbable suture was still intact in 1 (6%) patient, present b ut broken in 4 (24%) and completely absent in 12 (70%) patients. All p olyglactin sutures had been completely absorbed by 12 weeks. Absorptio n of the polyglactin sutures was associated with mild localised cornea l haze in 3 (18%) cases (p = 0.055). One of the 18 patients (6%) in th e polyglactin suture group presented with iris prolapse associated wit h knot failure 1 week post-operatively. There was no significant diffe rence in foreign body symptoms between the two groups. Conclusions 10/ 0 polyglactin sutures maintain adequate tensile strength during the im mediate post-operative period for small incision surgery and are assoc iated with minimal induction of astigmatism. Their subsequent absorpti on obviates the need for routine suture removal. Suture absorption is well tolerated although in some cases a mild degree of local tissue re action raises concern about possible mechanisms of absorption. The ris k of knot failure may be reduced by an alternative suture tying techni que. 10/0 monofilament polyglactin is an attractive option when a sutu re is required during small incision cataract surgery.