Abstract
Purpose :
Orbital compartment syndrome is one of a few ophthalmologic emergencies where even minutes to intervention can affect visual outcome. Many oculoplastic surgeries require performing a controlled canthotomy and cantholysis (C&C). We wanted to determine if increased oculoplastic surgery participation would increase confidence in performing a C&C in an emergency without faculty supervision.
Methods :
The residents at one ophthalmology residency were surveyed to gauge their level of comfort when performing a lateral canthotomy and cantholysis unsupervised in an emergency. The confidence level was compared to the number of oculoplastic cases performed. The average confidence level between the three years was compared to determine if an increased number of cases increased their confidence.
Results :
The average number of oculoplastic cases performed by residents per year of training was 35, 52 and 81 respectively. Confidence in ability was scored on a scale from 1 to 10 with 10 being the most confident. Average confidence in ability per year of training was 5, 9, 10 respectively.
Conclusions :
These findings support the hypothesis that the level of confidence in performing a C&C increased with a higher number of oculoplastic cases. Performing C&Cs in a controlled environment with the supervision and aide of faculty appears to have improved confidence of the residents. We believe that these results could serve as an example to improve patient outcomes in orbital compartment syndrome. While this is a small sample size, we feel that the results would be similar at other institutions.
This is a 2020 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.