Subtenon's anesthesia in extracapsular cataract extraction

To avoid sight threatening complications of retrobulbar and peribulbar blocks various new modalities of ophthalmic anesthesia have been developed. Subtenon's anesthesia has been found to be a safe and effective technique in phacoemulsification. This study aimed to see the efficacy of subtenon's block in extracapsular cataract extraction. Administration of the anesthetic agents was found to be comfortable in 137 (95.1%) patients. Surgical procedure was painless in 141 (98.0%) cases. Akinesia was satisfactory in 136 (94.5%) cases. Although minor events like chemosis and subconjunctival hemorrhage were seen in a significant number of patients but there was not a single case of major complication. Hence it is concluded that subtenon's anesthesia is a safe and efficient technique for ophthalmic anesthesia in extracapsular cataract extraction.