Incidence of re-surgery after manual small-incision cataract surgery at a tertiary eye-care center in South India.

Abstract

To study the incidence of re-surgery after manual small-incision cataract surgery (MSICS) at a tertiary eye-care center in South India and to compare the re-surgery rate between trainees and experts. A retrospective study was conducted at a tertiary eye-care center in Andhra Pradesh state of South India, which included 19,515 patients who underwent MSICS between 2012 and 2022 with 369 eyes of 369 patients who underwent re-surgery within 1 week of primary surgery. Factors included demographic data, type of re-surgery, that is, wound re-suturing, IOL repositioning, cortical wash, as well as anterior chamber (AC) wash. 19,515 eyes from the year 2012-2022 were analyzed. Most of the patients undergoing re-surgery belonged to the age group of 61-70 years (40.3%). Wound re-suturing was the more frequently performed re-surgery (47.6%). Wound re-suturing rates were comparable between the trainees and experts, whereas IOL repositioning, cortical wash, and AC wash were higher in the cases performed by trainees though statistically not significant. Careful pre-operative assessment, training under supervision, and other measures can be taken to reduce the re-surgery rates. Timely diagnosis and early treatment can give better outcomes and prevent devastating complications like endophthalmitis.