Criofacoemulsificación en la cirugía de catarata

Objective: Demonstrate the effect of cryophacoemulsification in cataract surgery as a way to improve patient visual quality and quality of life. Methods: An analytical prospective study was conducted of a case series of 43 eyes with cataract. Statistical analysis was based on mean and standard deviation descriptive techniques. In results not compared, a chi-square test with 95% significance and p < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: Of the patients studied, 67.44% did not feel any pain and reported very mild pain during blepharostat placement, clear corneal incision and intraocular lens placement; 62.79% were females aged over 70 years; 51.16% had NO3 nuclear hardness by LOCSIII; color vision improved in 90.70%; contrast sensitivity improved in 58.14%; in 72.09% the refractive cylinder was smaller than 0.5 diopters; in 93.02% best corrected visual acuity was 0.8-1.0; pachymetry showed significant differences at the end; mean endothelial cell loss was 274.16 cel/mm 2 ; mean hexagonality was reduced 3.42%, and the VF-14 index was very good in 100% of the patients one month after surgery. Conclusions: Cryophacoemulsification is safe and effective, reduces the inflammatory effects of surgery on the cornea and achieves a high level of patient satisfaction. Key words: Anesthesia; phacoemulsification; cryophacoemulsification; cryoanalgesia; VF-14.