Outcomes of Cataract Surgery at a Referral Center.

PURPOSE: To report the outcomes of cataract surgery at a large referral eye hospital and to identify factors associated with less than excellent visual outcomes. METHODS: Hospital records of patients, who had undergone age-related cataract extraction (1,285 procedures) within a two-year period were sampled randomly for 353 patients (405 eyes) and baseline characteristics were recorded. Up to three causes of visual loss (contributory reasons) were considered and the principal cause of "less than excellent outcome," i.e., best spectacle corrected visual acuity (BSCVA) <20/25 was defined as the primary reason. RESULTS: Mean age of the participants was 68.6 years, and 50.7% of enrolled subjects were female. Phacoemulsification had been performed in 92.1% of cases. Out of 405 eyes, 54%, 78%, and 97% achieved BSCVA of ≥20/25, ≥20/40, and ≥20/200, respectively. Poor visual outcomes were significantly associated with older age (OR: 4.55 for age >70 years), female gender (OR: 4.64), ocular comorbidities (OR: 7.68), surgically challenging eyes (OR: 7.33), long and short eyes (versus eyes with normal axial length, OR: 3.24), and being operated on by a novice surgeon (OR: 2.41). The leading contributory reasons for unfavorable outcome, in descending order were maculopathy (17%), posterior capsule opacification (PCO, 11.8%), corneal opacity (5.7%), and degenerative myopia (5.4%). CONCLUSION: Maculopathy, PCO, corneal opacity, degenerative myopia and ARMD may contribute to unfavorable outcomes in cataract surgery.

Sheep practice eye for ophthalmic surgery training in skills laboratory.

UNLABELLED: Pig eyes are not available for surgical practice in the Middle East and Central Asia. We reviewed the literature to select an alternative animal practice eye based on biometry, availability, expense, and the ethical issue of animal sacrifice. Twenty enucleated sheep eyes were studied with an ultrasonography immersion technique, and a variety of techniques for globe harvesting were tested and compared. The sheep eye was judged to be the best practical choice for ophthalmic surgery practice and the "bone shattering" exenteration maneuver, the most efficient harvesting method. Several anterior segment procedures were performed in the sheep eyes. Introduction of this sheep model would be instrumental in the development of ophthalmology skills laboratories and surgical training in Middle Eastern and Central Asian regions. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: No author has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned.

Globe-fixation system for animal eye practice.

UNLABELLED: We designed a globe-fixation system for use with animal eyes for surgical skills training. The system core is a cup with an adjustable aperture. Vacuum is exerted through the cup to capture the globe at the preequatorial region. The cup rides over a hollow base, sliding on its opening spurs. A ballast is screwed to the end of the thread of the cup to create tactile feedback and create a tendency to return to the primary position. The system provides optimum versatility for the practice of anterior segment procedures, namely stability, rotation, a tendency to return to the primary position, globe pressure adjustability, and a modifiable orbit size. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: Disclosures are found in the footnotes.