Midwest Eye Care Institute

Limbal Relaxing Incisions "LRI's"

Astigmatism refers to irregular curvature of the front of the eye (or cornea) and contributes to blurry vision. If you have cataract surgery, and do not have your astigmatism corrected at the same time, your vision will remain blurry. This may be why someone you know may not have needed glasses after cataract surgery (no astigmatism, or astigmatism corrected at the time of surgery), and you did need glasses (astigmatism post-cataract surgery).

Limbal relaxing incisions refers to making an incision on the peripheral cornea, commonly at the time of cataract surgery, to reduce the amount of astigmatism. Dr. Conlon routinely offers the option to have mild amounts of astigmatism corrected at the time of cataract surgery, by the use of limbal relaxing incisions. Interestingly, studies indicate less than 12% of cataract surgeons offer to perform limbal relaxing incisions for their patients.

The risks of limbal relaxing incisions are low, and serious complications are very rare. Common experiences include a foreign body sensation in the eye following surgery, which usually resolves completely in time.

It is important to understand that astigmatism is a difficult condition to correct accurately and predictably in all cases.

Alternatives to LRI’s, as previously mentioned, include toric intraocular lenses.