Differential time-course tear film quantitative changes following limbal relaxing incisions

BACKGROUND: The study aims at evaluating the time-course changes of pre-corneal tear film after simultaneous phacoemulsification and limbal relaxing incisions (LRIs) performed in 2 groups of patients; group-A had vertical and group-B had horizontal LRIs. METHODS: Fourty-two eyes of 28 patients with co-existing cataract and corneal astigmatism were studied before and after simultaneous cataract surgery and LRIs (at weeks 1, 4 and 12), patients were classified into 2 groups according to the orientation of LRIs; vertical (A) and horizontal (B) groups. Pre-corneal tear film stability was assessed by measuring the tear break-up time (TBUT) and the tear volume was determined using Schirmer's I test (Basic Schirmer's test; BST), both preoperatively and postoperatively. RESULTS: TBUT was significantly reduced in both the study groups (P = 0.001) without significant reduction regarding basic Schirmer's test values except for the first postoperative week in the horizontal LRI group-B (P = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Precorneal tear film stability is altered in the early postoperative period after simultaneous cataract and LRI incisions shown by TBUT measurement values. These changes do not appear to differ significantly depending on the orientation of LRI incisions.