Why is cataract surgery canceled? A retrospective evaluation

We performed this retrospective study to evaluate and report the reasons for cancellation of elective cataract surgeries in our tertiary care hospital, Kuwait University Hospital, from January 2001 until December 2003. Proportion of elective cataract surgeries canceled on the day of surgery was obtained from the operating theater list and reasons for cancellations were recorded.

The selected patients for the surgery had gone through preoperative investigations including complete blood count, random blood sugar, coagulation profile, urea and electrolytes, viral serology (hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and human immunodeficiency virus), intraocular lens calculation, and medical condition assessed for chronic diseases.

A total of 1952 patients were scheduled for elective cataract surgery. A total of 234 cases (12%) were canceled due to different reasons on the day of surgery. Main reasons for cancellation were poor control of systemic hypertension (77), canceled by patient (46), improper control of diabetes (20), patients did not bring the intraocular lens (18), chest infection or influenza in children (17), local eye infection (13), cardiac problems (11), high intraocular pressure after local anesthesia (8), and uncooperative patients (7).

Postponing elective cataract surgery for patients scheduled for surgery is a stressful situation for the patients and their relatives. Most reasons (80%) for cancelling the surgery were avoidable and efforts to reduce the number of postponed cases should be increased. Medical fitness should be done properly to avoid unexpected rise in blood pressure and blood sugar on the day of surgery.