Materials and Method: For the purposes of this study, two groups of people were examined. The first group included 95 people whose eyes had been converted from phacoemulcification to ECCE and the second group included 99 people whose eyes experienced smooth phacoemulsification after they underwent surgery due to senile cataracts in our clinic. Both groups of patients were compared in terms of preoperative and postoperative visual acuity, ocular examination findings and complications.

Results: The average age was 74.15±10.6 years in first group, 67.86±10.93 years in the second group. Causes of the conversion from phacoemulsification to ECCE were zonular dialysis in 32 of the eyes, posterior capsular rupture in 21 of the eyes, peripheral extension of the capsulorhexis in 20 of the eyes, trouble with phacoemulsification devices in 5 eyes, pupillary miosis in 5 eyes and very hard nucleus in 12 eyes. The increase in visual acuity after surgery in both groups was statistically significant (p=0.001).

Conclusion: The results of these evolving techniques show that phacoemulsification cataract surgery is the preferred method because it shows better visual results and lower rates of complication. However, if complications occur during phacoemulsification surgery, good visual outcomes can be attained after the conversion from phacoemulsification to ECCE on time. Keywords : Phacoemulsification, Cataract, Extracapsular cataract extraction, Posterior capsular rupture