title: Visual acuity immediately following phacoemulsification with subconjunctival anesthesia.
abstract: The authors attempted to discover the quality of vision experienced immediately after cataract surgery by those patients receiving subconjunctival anesthesia and no postoperative patching. Eighty-five consecutive patients who underwent phacoemulsification were studied. Anesthesia was topical tetracaine followed by a subconjunctival injection of a lidocaine-bupivicaine hydrochloride-hyaluronidase mixture. Visual acuities were measured within a half hour after surgery and at 1 day postoperatively. Immediate postoperative visual acuities ranged from 20/25 to 20/200. Visual acuities were 20/40 or better in 14 patients (16.4%), 20/50 to 20/60 in 22 patients (23.5%), and 20/70 to 20/200 in 49 patients (60.1%). The early postoperative visual acuity measurements vary widely. There was a marked improvement at 1 day after surgery, with acuities becoming more aligned with expected outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Eye Surgeons Associates, Davenport, IA 52804, USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Brothers Arbisser
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Wymore
mesh_terms: D000772:Anesthesia, Local / Q000379:methods*; D000779:Anesthetics, Local / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002386:Cataract / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003228:Conjunctiva; D006801:Humans; D007267:Injections; D018918:Phacoemulsification; D011184:Postoperative Period; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000779:Anesthetics, Local