Clinical retrospective study comparing planned extracapsular cataract extraction and phakoemulsification with and without lens implantation.

We conducted a clinical retrospective study in which the records of 350 consecutive extracapsular cataract operations were reviewed in order to compare two cataract extraction techniques: planned extracapsular cataract extraction (PECCE) and phakoemulsification (PKE) with and without intraocular lens implantation. The patients in the PKE group experienced significantly better vision overall. However, when an adjustment was made for the difference in age between patient populations there was no significant difference in the percentage of patients achieving good vision between the two groups. Similarly, there was no statistically significant difference in the total number of operative or postoperative complications. The patients in the PKE group required less time for refraction to stabilize and averaged less postoperative astigmatism. Both of these differences were statistically significant even after an adjustment was made for the difference in age between populations. The presence or absence of an intraocular lens had no effect on the findings.