Cataract surgery through extracapsular cataract extraction and phacoemulsification in patients from Las Tunas

Abstract

Background: cataract is the most frequent cause of vision loss in the population over 60 years and its treatment is the ophthalmologic surgical procedure mostly performed today.Objective: to describe the results of cataract surgery using the two types of surgical procedures, the extracapsular cataract extraction and the phacoemulsification of the crystalline lens, in patients of the Ophthalmologic Center of Las Tunas during the year 2016.Methods: a descriptive and retrospective study was performed to 1348 patients (eyes) suffering from cataract who were operated on by extracapsular cataract extraction (1257 eyes) and phacoemulsification (91 eyes) at the place and during the period herein mentioned.Results: the most frequent surgical complication was posterior capsular tear in the extracapsular extraction of the lens. The visual acuity was higher in the eyes operated on by means of phacoemulsification with an average of ≥ 0,6 of vision, and a fastest visual recovery. Postoperative endophthalmitis had an incidence of 0,44.Conclusions: both surgical techniques proved to be effective in achieving better visual quality in patients operated on for cataract, with a rapid incorporation into their social life.

Keywords

• cataract
• cataract extraction
• phacoemulsification