Good outcomes can be achieved following complicated cataract surgery

PARIS — Good outcomes can be achieved in many cases despite complications at cataract surgery, according to a review of cases presented here.

S. Ramanathan, FRCS, and colleagues reviewed the results of 1,614 cataract surgeries performed in the United Kingdom during 2003. Of those surgeries, 42 (2.97%) were considered complicated cases of planned phacoemulsification. The authors presented the results of those cases in a poster here at the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons meeting.

Using an average follow-up period of 8 weeks, the authors found that complicated phacoemulsification cataract extraction “had a comparatively good prognosis for vision, as 81% of eyes achieved best corrected visual acuity of 6/12 or better.”

Nine eyes in the review lost one or more lines of vision. Cystoid macular edema in five eyes, retinal detachment in two eyes, diabetic maculopathy in one eye and significant astigmatism in one eye were the contributing factors to poor visual outcomes.

“Hard cataracts and the ‘restless patient’ were two common predisposing factors leading to difficulty at operation and posterior capsule rupture,” the poster authors said. In eyes with hard cataracts, using a capsular tension ring or converting to extracapsular extraction should be considered, they advised.