AIMS To determine whether patients with age related macular degeneration (ARMD) benefit from cataract surgery in terms of visual function and quality of life measures, and to assess the impact of surgery on the progression of ARMD. METHODS A prospective study was carried out of patients with and without ARMD undergoing cataract surgery. Data were collected from 187 patients at the Princess Al...

In modern cataract surgery, spectacle freedom is becoming more and more important. Emmetropia can be achieved for patients with myopic or hyperopic refractive errors by selecting the appropriate spherical lens power. However, approximately 20% of patients who undergo cataract surgery have 1.25 diopters (D) of corneal astigmatism or more. (FerrerBlasco, Montes-Mico et al. 2009; Hoffmann and Hutz...

PURPOSE To examine the differences in tear film parameters more than 3 months postsurgery in eyes with cataract surgery (surgical eyes) versus eyes without cataract surgery (nonsurgical eyes). METHODS 29 patients were seen at the Miami Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) who had cataract surgery by phacoemulsification in one eye more than 3 months prior to the study date and had no history...

OBJECTIVE To assess the 2012 cost utility of cataract surgery in the United States and to compare 2012 cost-utility data with those from 2000. DESIGN Value-Based Medicine (Flourtown, PA), patient preference-based, comparative effectiveness analysis and cost-utility analysis using 2012 real United States dollars. PARTICIPANTS Previously published Patient Outcomes Research Team Study data and...

How can RAAB be used to improve cataract services? RAAB is a method for rapidly assessing visual acuity.2 People aged 50 years and above are randomly selected from a population. They undergo visual acuity screening and those who are found to have problems with their vision are examined by an eye care professional to determine the most likely cause. To date, more than one hundred RAAB surveys ha...

AIM To compare the incidences of endophthalmitis after cataract operations before and after introduction of intracameral vancomycin at the end of surgery. METHODS A retrospective analysis was performed of presumed infectious endophthalmitis after cataract surgery from January 1, 1998 to December 31, 2008. From January 2001, the practice of using intracameral vancomycin at the end of cataract ...

OBJECTIVE To estimate the cost-effectiveness of cataract surgery and refractive error/presbyopia correction in Zambia. METHODS Primary data on costs and health related quality of life were collected in a prospective cohort study of 170 cataract and 113 refractive error/presbyopia patients recruited from three health facilities. Six months later, follow-up data were available from 77 and 41 pa...

PURPOSE To investigate the prevalence and visual acuity (VA) outcomes of cataract surgery in adults of the Bai Nationality populations in rural China. METHODS We conducted a population-based cross-sectional survey (from randomly selected block groups) of Chinese Bai Nationality aged ≥50 years in southwestern China. Presenting visual acuity (PVA), best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) were recor...

SEPTEMBER 2010 CATARACT & REFRACTIVE SURGERY TODAY 45 C ataract and glaucoma frequently occur in the same patient, especially as the world’s population ages. Studies have shown that cataract surgery alone is capable of modestly reducing IOP and minimizing the patient’s need for multiple eye drops to control his or her IOP.1 The decrease may be larger when the baseline pressure is higher. Many t...

INTRODUCTION Cataract is one of the leading causes of low vision in the westernised world, and cataract surgery is one of the most commonly performed operations. Laser platforms for cataract surgery are now available, the anticipated advantages of which are broad and may include better visual outcomes through greater precision and reproducibility, and improved safety. FACT is a randomised singl...