Report on 4055 cataract operations in a department with treatment by non-resident physicians, with special consideration of anesthesia problems (author's transl)

Abstract

In addition to eye clinics and ophthalmic wards under the supervision of a senior hospital surgeon, wards where patients are treated by their own, non-resident physicians, play an important part in the treatment of eye conditions in Germany. This is a very old tradition which was introduced by von Graefe. Especially in the present situation, now that the number of hospital beds is no longer being increased without very careful thought, there is much talk about the efficiency of differently run wards. In such discussions ophthalmic wards with treatment by non-resident physicians are also being subjected to critical examination. While reports from eye clinics and ophthalmic wards under the management of hospital surgeons frequently appear on the various journals and at conferences, information on wards where beds are available to non-resident physicians is rather scanty. Yet a large proportion of in-patient ophthalmic treatment is administered in such wards. This report covers more than 20 years' experience in a ward of this kind in a large West German city, taking cataract operations as an example.