Pain during second eye cataract surgery under topical anesthesia: an intraindividual study

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Surgical Innovation
• Patient Experience

Background:

• Cataract surgery under topical anesthesia is common.
• Bilateral cataract surgery involves two separate procedures.
• Patient-reported pain and cooperation are key outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare pain and cooperation between first and second eye cataract surgeries.
• To determine if first eye pain predicts second eye pain.
• To assess differences in patient cooperation between sequential surgeries.

Main Methods:

• Prospective study of 73 patients undergoing bilateral cataract surgery.
• Sutureless clear corneal phacoemulsification under topical anesthesia.
• Pain assessed using Visual Analogue Scale (VAS); cooperation graded by surgeon.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in VAS pain scores between first (2.35) and second (2.89) eyes.
• Significant correlation found between pain scores for the first and second eyes (r=0.5514, p<0.0001).
• No significant difference in surgeon-graded cooperation between first (2.64) and second (2.52) eyes.

Conclusions:

• First and second eye cataract surgeries under topical anesthesia show comparable pain and cooperation levels.
• Pain experienced during the first eye surgery is a significant predictor of pain during the second eye surgery.
• Topical anesthesia provides adequate pain control and facilitates good patient cooperation in bilateral cataract surgery.