AIM: To investigate clinical therapeutic effect and safety of small incision extracapsular cataract extraction combined with intraocular lens implantation in blindness prevention and treatment.

METHODS: Clinical data of 425 patients with cataract(425 eyes)were analyzed retrospectively, who received small incision extracapsular cataract extraction combined with intraocular lens implantation in the No.413 Hospital of Chinese PLA, with the help from “handicapped rehabilitation engineering in Dinghai District of Zhoushan City” from September 2013 to August 2014. Visual acuity before and after operation, average corneal curvature, corneal astigmatism and intraoperative and postoperative complications were compared statistically and analyzed emphatically.

RESULTS: In all of the 425 patients with cataract(425 eyes), the preoperative best corrected visual acuity of 99 patients were less than 0.05, and the other 326 patients were 0.05 to 0.3. Classification of lens nucleus hardness: level Ⅲ, 63 cases; level Ⅳ, 257 cases; and level Ⅴ, 105 cases. The preoperative average corneal curvature and corneal astigmatism of all patients were 44.6±1.52D and 1.35±0.96D. All the 425 patients underwent small incision extracapsular cataract extraction combined with intraocular lens implantation. Postoperative follow-up of 3mo results: the best corrected visual acuity: 5 cases were less than 0.05(blindness-free rate 98.8%); 8 cases were 0.05 to <0.3(handicap-overcome rate 96.9%); 42 cases were between 0.3 to <0.5; 127 cases between 0.5 to 0.8 and 243 cases were ≥0.8. Postoperative average corneal curvature and cornea astigmatism were 44.5±1.42D and 1.47±1.00D respectively. There were no statistically significant difference compared with preoperative condition. No severe complications such as infectious endophthalmitis or retinal detachment occurred, except 4 patients(0.9%)with posterior capsular rupture and 3 patients(0.7%)with Descemet's membrane detachment during operation; and 18 patients(4.2%)with transient corneal edema and 4 patients(0.9%)with hyphema after operation.

CONCLUSION: It is effective and safe to apply small incisionextracapsular cataract extraction combined with intraocular lens implantation in blindness prevention and treatment, and it gives excellent visual rehabilitation to cataract patients. Especially in those areas and hospitals having no condition of phacoemulsification, it's a safe and effective alternative when carrying out the program of blindness prevention and treatment.