Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of the arched blade for making clear corneal incisions in cataract surgery. Methods: This prospective study comprised 112 ey es of 74 patients scheduled for cataract surgery. Temporal clear corneal incisio ns were made with either a 3.2-mm conventional flat blade or the arched blade. The choice of knife was randomly assigned. Two surgeons, one with substantial ca taract surgery experience and the other with less experience, performed the surg ery. Corneal topography and aberration were examined pre-and postoperatively. T he degree of surgically induced astigmatism (SIA) and high order aberration was analysed. The self-sealing ability of the wound was also compared between both blades. Results: For the less experienced surgeon, the degree of SIA was signifi cantly higherwith the 3.2-mmflat blade thanwith the 3.2-mm arched blade as mea sured at any time during postoperative follow-up. For the more experienced surg eon, the degree of high order aberration increased significantly with the 3.2-m m flat blade. The incision’s self-sealing ability was significantly better whe n the wound was made with the arched blade rather than with the flat blade. Conc lusion: The arched blade proved to be effective in reducing surgically induced a stigmatism and high order aberration in cataract surgery, particularlywhen used by the less experienced surgeon. Using the arched blade should lead to better wo und self-sealing and, therefore, safer surgical results.
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