Our purpose was to examine the long-term efficacy of toric intraocular lens (IOL) implantation in cataract patients with high astigmatism due to corneal ectasia, who underwent phacoemulsification cataract surgery. Five eyes of 3 cataract patients with topographically stable keratoconus or pellucid macular degeneration (PMD), in which phacoemulsification with toric IOL implantation was used to correct high astigmatism, are reported. Objective and subjective refraction, visual acuity measurement and corneal topography were performed in all cases before and after cataract surgery. In all cases, there was a significant improvement in visual acuity, as well as refraction, which remained stable over time. Specifically, in subjective refraction, all patients achieved visual acuity from 7/10 to 9/10 with up to -2.50 cyl. Corneal topography also remained stable. Postoperative follow-up was 18-28 months. Cataract surgery with toric IOL implantation seems to be safe and effective in correcting astigmatism and improving visual function in cataract patients with topographically stable keratoconus or PMD.

Keywords: Astigmatism; Intraocular lens; Keratoconus; Pellucid marginal degeneration; Phacoemulsification; Toric intraocular lens.