[Benefits of ambulatory surgery in cataract surgery]

We monitored 300 patients who had undergone ambulatory cataract operations. Patients are more and more preferring this type of surgery, which allows them to go home immediately after the operation. We compare ambulatory ECCE and phacoemulsification operations and their complications, advantages and disadvantages. We shall not go into the real cost-saving benefits of this type of surgery compared with conventional surgery, as these have already been demonstrated in other countries. Ambulatory surgery requires that the patient is to be monitored after the operation, which is difficult to do in large centers. We explain the reasons for this. We discuss the indications and contra-indications of this type of cataract procedure.