Background and objective: To describe the use of small incision sutureless cataract surgery (SISCS) that permits high-volume, high-quality, and low-cost surgery.

Patients and methods: We compared the speed, safety, and visual results of 1190 surgical techniques performed in a public eye camp in India. Intraocular lenses were received by 97% of patients (1154). Surgical techniques used were SISCS, phacoemulsification, and standard extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE) technique.

Results: Postoperatively, 60.0% attained uncorrected vision of 6/24 or better. There was little difference in visual results or complication rates among the three techniques. The most striking finding is the speed of SISCS, which enables experienced surgeons to perform the technique in 3.8 to 4.2 minutes.

Conclusion: We believe this surgical technique is of major importance especially in developing nations facing enormous surgical volumes and limited resources.