Excellent visual outcomes in cataract surgery

Cataract surgery produces excellent visual outcomes, with 61.3% of patients achieving a corrected distance visual acuity of 20/20 or better, according to a database study in the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.

Dr Mats Lundström and his team, Department Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden, included data on 368,256 cataract extractions from 15 cataract surgery clinics in Europe. The data consisted of individual anonymous data on preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative measurements.

The best visual outcome was seen in age groups 40 to 74 years and men presented a higher percentage of excellent vision. Corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) of 20/40 or better was achieved in 94.3% and 20/20 or better was obtained in 61.3% of patients.

Overall, the factors that greatly affected visual outcomes were ocular comorbidity and postoperative complications. Also, surgical complications and ocular changes that needed complex surgery also negatively affected outcomes.

The abstract can be viewed here.