Cataract Surgery Astigmatism Correction Techniques

Patients who have cataracts and astigmatism and are now considering Cataract Surgery need to understand that in order to see clearly at distance after their Cataract operation they will need to correct their astigmatism by either wearing eyeglasses, having a secondary surgical procedure called a Limbal Relaxing Incision (LRI) or have an astigmatism correction toric lens implant (IOL). According to researchers at the Baylor College of Medicine’s Cullen Eye Institute as reported in the March 2011 edition of the Journal of Refractive Surgery both Limbal Relaxing Incisions (LRI) and toric lens implants both produce similar results. While both types of astigmatism correction performed well for lower correction levels, at higher levels of astigmatism the toric IOLs produced better results. Another variable that may lean in favor of the toric lens implants for astigmatism is the amount of surgeon experience. For those surgeons with less experience with LRI, the toric implants would be preferred to produce the best results.