Current trends in cataract surgery in Thailand--2004 survey

To survey and investigate the current trend of cataract surgery in Thai ophthalmologists in 2004.

Questionnaires were sent to 600 ophthalmologists who were the members of the Ophthalmological Society and Royal Colleges of Ophthalmologists of Thailand. Data received from 248 (41.3%) of the recipients were analyzed and compared with those from the previous survey.

The majority of respondents were male (63.3%) while 36.7% were female. In cataract surgery, 99.2% were still doing cataract surgery, the average number of cataract surgery procedures per surgeon per month was 25.6, 89.8% preferred phacoemulsification, and 42.5% preferred acrylic lens. The posterior capsular tear was the most common complication.

There are trends toward more cataract surgical procedures performed by a surgeon, increasing preference of topical anesthesia, small incision wound and foldable acrylic lenses which reflected the popularity of phacoemulsification.