Abstract
Purpose:
To compare the aesthetic differences between 2 different ocular anesthetic techniques used in cataract surgeries
Methods:
Prospective study involving photographs of subject's operated eye on first post-operative day. Single senior anesthetist performs the ocular anesthesia. Five senior and 5 junior Ophthalmologists, blinded to the subject's anesthetic method, will answer a survey regarding which anesthetic technique was used for each subject based solely on the photograph. Spearman correlation coefficient was used to analyze for correlation between the anesthesia technique and the aesthetic appearance
Results:
Of the 114 patients (114 eyes) who underwent cataract surgery, 57 (50.0%) subtenon’s and 57 (50.0%) topical anesthesia techniques were used. The total number of photo survey questions answered was 1140. The Ophthalmologists correctly identified 358/570 (62.8%) of the photos of eyes with subtenon's techniques and 500/570 (87.7%) of eyes with topical techniques. Spearman correlation coefficient of the anesthetic technique versus aesthetic outcome was 0.525 (p<0.01). There is statistical significance in the 212 subtenon's techniques that were identified as topical instead. (chi2 test, p=0.009)
Conclusions:
In our study, there is statistical significance in the aesthetic differences between the various ocular anesthetic techniques used in cataract surgeries. Each technique has its own advantage. Subtenon’s block minimizes the risk of globe perforation and has comparable aesthetic outcome compared to topical. Topical anesthesia technique yielded the best aesthetic outcome. The choice of anesthetic technique should be according to the preference of the surgeon or anesthetist administrating the block, with the medical care of the patient being the utmost importance
Keywords: 743 treatment outcomes of cataract surgery •
527 face perception •
526 eyelid