The role of 1% sodium hyaluronate in anterior capsulotomy with the neodymium:YAG laser in patients with diseased cornea.

Patients with preexisting corneal pathology who needed cataract extraction had an anterior capsulotomy performed with a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser (LASAG Microruptor II). Thirty-two patients had no sodium hyaluronate (Healon) and 36 patients had Healon injected into the anterior chamber prior to the laser surgery. The non-Healon group had a higher incidence of corneal damage from the YAG laser and, as a result, a higher incidence of endothelial corneal decompensation than the patients with the Healon-filled chamber.