[Visual outcome of cataract surgery in adults]

Abstract

Introduction: The treatment of cataract blindness is surgical, allowing restored vision. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the functional results of cataract surgery in adults in a tertiary care referral center.

Patients and methods: Prospective study of 2012 eyes operated for adult cataract from September 1, 2009 to August 31, 2010 (12 months). The results were analyzed by the Monitoring Cataract Surgical Outcomes software (MCSO). The postoperative functional data and the causes of poor outcomes were identified.

Results: A total of 1044 women (51.9%) and 968 men (48.1%) underwent cataract surgery. Mean age was 65 years. Extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE), and manual sutureless small incision cataract surgery (SICS) with posterior chamber IOL implantation in 98%, were the main surgical techniques. Functional results indicated that 45.5% of our patients had good visual acuity (≥3/10) with current spectacles, 33% had limited visual acuity (1/10-2/10), and 21.6% had poor visual acuity (<1/10). The proportion of patients with good results improved with best spectacle correction to 63%, vs. 22.9% with limited visual acuity and 14.1% with poor outcomes. The causes of poor outcomes were mainly related to surgical complications (42.1%) and refractive errors (34.8%).

Discussion: These results are inferior to WHO standards, which recommend a rate greater than or equal to 80% for good outcomes and a rate below 5% for bad outcomes.

Conclusion: The identification of the causes of poor outcomes underscores the importance of improving surgical skills and the need for postoperative refraction.