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Patients' Short-term Satisfaction With Cataract Surgery and Long-Term Sustainability of Improved Visual-Related
Thomas Hong1, Paul Mitchell, Calvin Sze-Un Fong
1From the *Centre for Vision Research, Department of Ophthalmology and Westmead Millennium Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney; and †Centre for Eye Research Australia, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
Purpose:
This study aimed to assess self-reported satisfaction following cataract surgery, and the sustainability of improved visual function and health-related quality of life in a cataract surgical cohort over 3 years post-phacoemulsification surgery.
Design:
A clinic-based cohort study.
Methods:
Cataract surgical patients were recruited and followed up annually after surgery. Logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (LogMAR) visual acuity, visual function (using the VF-14 questionnaire), and health-related quality of life (using the Short-Form Health Survey [SF-36] questionnaire) were assessed preoperatively and at 1, 2, and 3 years postoperatively.
Results:
Of the 2029 patients recruited, 1924 (94.8%) had at least 1 postoperative visit, and 1229 (63.9%) had the 3-year follow-up examination performed. The mean age was 75.1 ± 6 years, and 54.1% were female. Of the 1229, 439 (35.7%) and 286 (23.3%) had completed the VF-14 and SF-36 questionnaires, respectively, at all 3 follow-up visits. The majority (92.1%) of patients reported being satisfied with the outcome of the surgery 6 months postoperatively. The overall VF-14 scores were significantly improved at the 12-month postoperative visits compared with preoperative scores (P < 0.01), independent of age and sex. The improved VF-14 mean scores were sustained for up to 3 years postoperatively. Health-related quality of life (SF-36 scores) showed no significant changes between preoperative and 1-, 2-, and 3-year postoperative examinations.
Conclusions:
We documented the sustainability of improvement in visual function-related quality of life associated with cataract surgery over 3 postoperative years. Cataract surgery was not associated with improvement in health-related quality-of-life scores.
