[Cataract operation with the 7 mm clear cornea incision].

Cataract surgery can be combined with the correction of high preoperative astigmatism by using a corneal tunnel incision in the steep meridian. We examined 37 patients (mean age 70 years) with cataract and a mean preoperative astigmatism of 3.6 D (2.0-4.75 D). A 7-mm clear corneal incision was made for phacoemulsification and thus a reduction in the astigmatism was achieved. The mean induced astigmatism was 3.6 D (SD 1.6 D minium 0.8 D, maximum 7.5 D) on the first postoperative day and 2.7 D (SD 0.9 D, minimum 1.6 D, maximum 4.9 D) after 10 months. By modification of the incision technique with a trapezoidal corneal incision and a single radial suture the wound closure was more stable, but the astigmatic correction did not change significantly compared to the results after the original 7-mm clear corneal incision technique.