Clinical comparison of modern extracapsular cataract extraction and phacoemulsification for hard nuclear cataract

Objective: To study effect of phacoemulsification and modern extracapsular cataract extraction(ECCE)in treating hard nuclear cataract.Methods: A total of 132 eyes from 128 patients with hard nuclear cataract were randomly divided into phacoemulsification group(n=66)and modern ECCE group(n=66).Visual acuity,corneal endothelial cell density and average endothelial cell area before and after the surgery,intraoperative complications,corneal astigmatism were observed and compared between the two groups.Results:There were no significant differences between the two groups in visual acuity(P0.05).There were significant differences in the occurrence and persistence time of corneal edema,endothelial cell density,average endothelial area,and intraoperative complications in the two groups(P0.05).There was no significant difference in corneal induced astigmatism by surgery(P0.05).Conclusion:The technique of modern ECCE with rapid recovery of good visual acuity may be the better choice for hard nuclear cataract.