Clinical Studies on Cataract Surgery Patients

ABSTRACT

Surgery of the lens of the eye is almost exclusively limited to that which is done for a cataract. It is this type of operation which has it possible for the greatest number of the blind to recover vision. There is documentary historical evidence that surgery for cataracts was performed by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. The first recorded extraction of the opapue lens was done by Davial in 1745 who used a triangular knife to section the limbus. Subsecuently the fact that many eyes lost their sight because of infection prevented the widespread use of this impor tant surgical discovery until the Listerian epoch. Since 1870 and the advent of antisepsis the use of this operation for cataracts has become generalized so that today its use is widespread. Also there has been development and progress in the method of surgery. Although there are many serious complication which may follow the extraction of a lens for cataract, the incidence of such is relatively rare. This study is based on a survey of the results of 479 cataract operations each performed under similar conditions, but using a variety of operative techniques. These operations were performed at Y.U.M.C. Department of Ophthalmology between 1964 and 1973. The results of the study are summarized as follows 1. From 1964 through 1973 there were 384 cataracts done on 225 males and 159 females. 2. Cataract extration were done upon 479 eyes. The types of cataracts are senile 341, traumatic 57, complicated 35, congenital 21, other 25. 3. The incidence of operative complications was vitreous loss 17.2%, capsul rupture 6.5%, iris prolapse 1.7%. 4. Early postoperative complications included striate keratitis 55.2%, hyphema 22.9%, infection 3.1%, pupil drown up 1.5%, iris prolapse 1.5%, conjunctival bleb 1.3%. 5. The following were late postoperative complications corneal edema 2.4%, glaucoma 2.1%, retinal detachment 2.0%, uveitis 1.1%.