title: Second eye cataract surgery: perceptions of a population assisted at a university hospital.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify daily life difficulties perceived by patients suffering from senile cataract before and after second eye cataract surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  Longitudinal prospective study with 84 patients consecutively seen within the framework of the Cataract Project, with visual acuity equal to or higher than 20/30 in the pseudophakic eye, and equal to or lower than 20/40 with the best possible optical correction in the cataractous eye. A questionnaire was applied during an interview.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Before surgery, 60.7% complained about visual impairment (moderate or marked); after surgery, 92.8% had no difficulty. Routine activities, mobility, and leisure activities were significantly altered after surgery (P =.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  According to the patients' perceptions, there was a significant reduction in visual difficulties after second eye cataract surgery.
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Ophthalmology, Hospital das Clínicas, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, Brazil. aavakian@uol.com.br
authors.forename: Amaryllis
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Avakian
authors.forename: Edmea Rita
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Temporini
authors.forename: Newton
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kara-José
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002387:Cataract Extraction / Q000592:standards*; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011788:Quality of Life; D014787:Vision Tests; D014792:Visual Acuity; D014796:Visual Perception