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Updated: Jun 28, 2026
Rotating the Intraocular Lens to Prevent Posterior Capsular Opacification in Cataract Surgeries
Published on: July 7, 2023
Surgeon-Patient Sex Concordance and Postoperative Outcomes in Cataract Surgeries: A 16-Year Retrospective Cohort
Ishani P Majmudar1, Sahana Aggarwal2, Nikoo Hamzeh1
1Department of Ophthalmology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
Purpose:
To determine if there is an association between surgeon-patient sex concordance and post-surgical complications for cataract surgeries.
Patients And Methods:
In this 16-year retrospective cohort study, data was collected from the Northwestern Medicine Electronic Data Warehouse on patients who underwent cataract surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, IL. The self-identified sex of the surgeon and patient was recorded for each surgery. Peri-operative complications and associated procedures that occurred within 30 days of surgery as marked by diagnosis codes, billing codes, or post-operative notes were recorded. Peri-operative complications included one or more of endophthalmitis, choroidal hemorrhage, posterior capsular tear, retinal detachment, vitreous loss, retained lens fragments, or return to operating room for vitrectomy within 30 days. The primary outcome was the association between the presence of any postoperative complications from cataract surgery and surgeon-patient sex discordance.
Results:
From 2007 to 2023, 30,804 cataract surgeries were performed on 19,178 unique patients. About 47.69% were sex concordant procedures and 51.00% were sex discordant. A post-operative or intra-operative complication occurred in 3.5% of patients. Among cataract surgeries that resulted in one or more complications, 50.3% were sex-concordant while 49.7% were sex-discordant. The most common post-operative complication experienced among individuals with complications was retinal detachment.
Conclusion:
The results of our study demonstrate no significant association between surgical complication rates and surgeon-patient sex discordance following cataract surgery, supporting comparable outcomes irrespective of surgeon-patient sex concordance.
