Out-patient cataract surgery. First experiences from a large hospital department

Out-patient cataract surgery was recently introduced as a routine procedure in our department. Background population, selection criteria and practical-administrative procedures for the first 33 patients are described. 19 females and 14 males, age range 45 to 90 years, were offered ambulatory surgery; 19 had extracapsular surgery and 27 intraocular lenses. Insignificant complications occurred in four cases, one of them related to the out-patient procedure. It definitely seems possible to offer this modality to selected patients without compromising medical ethics, and the results have been met with unanimous satisfaction by the patients.