BACKGROUND Cataract is the leading cause of blindness worldwide, with the greatest burden found in low-income countries. Cataract surgery is a curative and cost-effective intervention. Despite major non-governmental organization (NGO) support, the cataract surgery performed in Southern Region, Ethiopia is currently insufficient to address the need. We analyzed the distribution, productivity, co...

Dear Editor: The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has mandated that all residency training programs teach and assess 6 general competencies. The American Board of Ophthalmology has recommended that a seventh competency in surgery be required. At the time of the writing of this letter, surgery still is included by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education in th...

AIMS To determine the coverage, outcome, and barriers to uptake of cataract surgery in leprosy villages of north eastern Nigeria. METHODS People 30 years and above resident in eight leprosy villages were examined. Cataract blind people were questioned about the reasons they had not been treated. Subjects who had received an operation for cataract were examined to determine the outcome and, wh...

• Objective: To apply statistical process control (SPC) techniques to evaluate 3 components of the phacoemulsification cataract surgery procedure. • Design: Retrospective chart review. • Methods: We analyzed 180 cataract surgeries performed by 6 cataract surgeons (3 “high-volume” and 3 “low-volume” surgeons). Surgical parameters evaluated were phacoemulsification time (seconds), phacoemulsifica...

PURPOSE To assess the effect of a Capsulorhexis Intensive Training Curriculum (CITC) on the rates of errant, continuous, curvilinear capsulorhexes (CCCs) during cataract surgery among resident surgeons at a teaching hospital. DESIGN Retrospective educational interventional case series. PARTICIPANTS AND CONTROLS A total of 1037 consecutive cataract surgeries performed at Harbor-UCLA Medical ...

Posterior polar cataracts present special challenges to the cataract surgeon. These are often associated with weakness/dehiscence of the posterior capsule and thus have a higher rate of intraoperative posterior capsule rupture. The surgeon needs to adhere to special surgical strategies to minimize the risk of a posterior capsule rupture. These include, adhering to the principles of closed chamb...

Cataract is the leading cause of blindness globally and surgery is the only known measure to deal with it effectively. Providing high quality cataract surgical services is critical if patients with cataract are to have their sight restored. A key focus of surgery is the outcome of the procedure. In cataract surgery this is measured predominantly, using visual acuity. Population- and hospital-ba...

Surgically removable cataracts remain the leading cause of blindness worldwide. The disease is much more common in developing countries due to the absence of ophthalmologists who can perform cataract surgery. Though many factors influence cataract development, the vast majority of cases are age-related and develop in persons over 50 years old. Studies show that women are more susceptible to cat...

PURPOSE To collect cataract surgery rates data in 19 Latin American countries over a 4-year period as data published to date have been limited. METHODS Cataract surgery rates were obtained from National Society of Ophthalmology, National VISION 2020/Prevention of Blindness Committee and Ministry of Health representatives for each country for 2005 to 2008. Economic (gross national income per c...

AIM To determine the prevalence of blindness, visual impairment and the cataract surgical coverage for people aged 50 years and older in the Lumbini Zone and the Chitwan District (Narayani Zone) of Nepal. METHODS A population-based cross-sectional study in 2006 selected subjects aged 50 years and older through a random multistage cluster sampling and door-to-door enumeration. Ophthalmic exami...