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AAO, ASCRS update advisory urging patients to disclose tamsulosin use
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FAIRFAX, Va. — The American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery have issued a joint statement reinforcing their 2006 advisory urging patients who take tamsulosin for prostate enlargement or urinary retention problems to alert their ophthalmologist before undergoing cataract surgery.
The announcement follows the publication of a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association that found Flomax (tamsulosin, Boehringer Ingelheim) doubled the risk of certain postoperative complications after cataract surgery.
The AAO and ASCRS also urge patients considering taking alpha-blockers who already have cataracts to understand that these drugs can complicate cataract surgery, even after use has been discontinued. For this reason, patients should discuss the risks and timing of their operation with their cataract surgeon so that surgical techniques may be adjusted to achieve optimized outcomes.
"It is also important to reassure patients already taking Flomax that they have an excellent prognosis for successful cataract surgery, as long as their ophthalmologist performing eye surgery is forewarned," OSN Cataract Surgery Board Member David F. Chang, MD, one of the investigators who first identified complications among cataract patients using the drug, said in the statement. "Even with Flomax, the overall risk of serious cataract surgical complications is very low, and patients needn't otherwise avoid or delay recommended surgery."
The organizations ask patients who wish to learn more about cataracts and cataract surgery to visit www.geteyesmart.org/eyesmart/diseases/cataracts.cfm.