Visual Outcome of Cataract Surgery

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the visu al ou tcome of cataract su rgery in a tertiary hosp ital in Nigeria. Methods: Three hu nd red and seventy eyes (370) that had cataract su rgery in the op hthalmology d ep artment of University of Benin Teaching Hosp ital (UBTH) from July 2007 to December 2008 were includ ed in the stu d y. Case record s were retrieved and d ata from them analysed . The age range was 4 to 95 years (mean age 41.1 years). There were 181 males and 189 females . Senile cataract was the commonest (64.6%) typ e, followed by traumatic cataract (13%). Extracapsu lar cataract extraction with p osterior chamber intraocu lar lens (IOL) imp lant (75.4%) was the commonest p roced u re, followed by ECCE with anterior chamber intraocu lar lens imp lant (11.6%), ECCE withou t IOL (4.1%) and intracapsular cataract extraction with or withou t IOL ( 8.9% ). Results: Preoperative visu al acu ity was less than 3/ 60 in 73.8% and 6/ 18 – 6/ 60 in 4% of the eyes. The best corrected p ostop erative visu al acu ity at 6 weeks was 6/ 6 – 6/ 18 (good ou tcome) in 161 (43.5%) eyes, bord erline in 107(28.9%) and p oor in 73 (19.7%). The best corrected visu al ou tcome at 6 m onths w as good in 221 (59.7%), bord erline in 59 (15.9%) and p oor in 34 (9.3%) eyes. The visu al ou tcome was u nknown in 56 (15.1%) eyes. Conclusion: The visu al ou tcome after cataract extraction in this centre is still less than the WHO recommend ation of 90% for best corrected visual acu ity of 6/ 6-6/ 18 vision. There is the need for biometry, good p atient selection, p rop er management of comp lications and sp ectacle correction of refractive errors in ord er to imp rove visual ou tcome after cataract extraction.Key words: visu al ou tcome, cataract extraction, intraocu lar lens imp lant