Cataract surgery practice patterns in the United States Veterans Health Administration

To document current cataract surgery practice patterns of ophthalmologists in the United States Veterans Health Administration, an anonymous online 27-question survey was emailed to the 132 members of the Association of Veterans Affairs Ophthalmologists. The results were tabulated in a computerized database and analyzed with descriptive statistics. The response rate was 53% (70/132); 89% (62/70) of the respondents performed cataract surgery. Sixty percent (36/60) of the responding cataract surgeons were full-time employees, and most (85%, 51/60) trained residents. Common practices among them included partial coherence interferometry for biometry (81%, 47/58), topical anesthesia (57%, 33/58), clear corneal incisions (91%, 53/58), and acrylic single-piece intraocular lens (IOL) implantation (97%, 56/58). Eighty-three percent (48/58) offered toric IOLs at their facilities. These results will help benchmark cataract surgery practice patterns in teaching hospitals and facilitate comparison with cataract surgery in other settings.