Cataract surgery without preanesthetic consultation: A 2-year retrospective study

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Anesthesiology

Background:

• Cataract surgery is a globally prevalent procedure.
• The necessity of routine preanesthetic consultations for certain surgeries is increasingly debated.
• Perioperative anesthetic management for cataract surgery offers opportunities for optimization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the anesthetic and surgical safety of performing cataract surgeries under topical or sub-Tenon's anesthesia.
• To assess the feasibility of omitting preanesthetic consultations in select cataract surgery cases.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective study of 1000 phacoemulsification procedures performed between January 2021 and December 2022.
• Procedures utilized topical or sub-Tenon's anesthesia without prior preanesthetic consultation.
• Patients were selected based on surgeon-defined criteria indicating low risk for complications or difficulties.

Main Results:

• No major systemic complications were recorded in 1000 procedures.
• Surgical complication rate was 2.7% (27 procedures).
• Intraoperative medication (antihypertensives, sedatives) was administered in 41.3% of cases; anesthesiologist calls were infrequent (0.9%).

Conclusions:

• Performing phacoemulsification under topical or sub-Tenon's anesthesia without preanesthetic consultation demonstrated comparable complication rates to literature.
• This simplified care pathway appears safe for selected patients.
• Further prospective studies are recommended to confirm non-inferiority and support broader implementation.