Patients' subjective visual experiences during vitreous surgery under local anesthesia

To investigate patient's visual experience during vitreous surgery under local anesthesia.

A prospective and randomized study of 76 patients that underwent vitreous surgeries in our hospital between July 2010 and December 2010 was designed. All patients were interviewed half an hour before and within 1 hour after the surgery using a standardized questionnaire. Basic characteristics of patients and their intraoperative visual experiences like light, color, moving object, pain, fear, and the desire for general anesthesia before and after the surgery were recorded.

Sixty patients (78.9%) perceived at least light perception, and 16 patients (21.1%) got no light perception throughout the entire duration of the operation. Forty one patients (53.9%) perceived only light, while 19 patients (25%) experienced moving objects. Thirty nine patients (51.3%) were frightened during their intraoperative visual experiences. Patients with better preoperative best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) were more likely to be frightened (p=0.002). The frightened experience was affected notably by the different perceptions during operation, moving object (p=0.024), light (p=0.071), and color (p=0.071). Patients below 50 years old, especially from 20 to 30, were more likely to choose general anesthesia after the vitreous surgery.

Most patients (78.9%) experienced at least light perception during the vitreous surgery under local anesthesia. There were no significant differences between the various visual experiences and their basic characteristics. Patients with better preoperative BCVA, perceived moving objects in their visual sensations seemed more likely to be frightened.