Elderly patients benefit from cataract surgery

Cataract surgery can significantly improve the quality of life for elderly patients, according to a study presented at the ASCRS Annual Meeting 2023.

The retrospective study was conducted in a Tertiary Eye Hospital from January to December 2021 and included patients over the age of 90 years who had undergone cataract surgery during the study period. The data collected included pre-operative, 1-month post-operative uncorrected and best-corrected visual acuity, systemic illnesses, grade of cataract, surgical technique used, intra-operative, post-operative complications, and retinal pathologies affecting vision.

In total, 44 patient records were analyzed, and the mean age of the participants was 92.6 (+/-2.4) years. The most common cataract types among the elderly population were brown cataract (47.7%), followed by immature cataract (27.3%), mature cataract (13.6%), and hyper mature cataract (11.4%). There was a significant improvement in the visual acuity from baseline after surgery (P < 0.001).

The study found that 75% of the participants had vision better than or equal to 6/18 at one month after surgery, indicating a significant improvement in their visual function. There was no significant difference found in the post-operative visual acuity between the manual small incision cataract surgery and phacoemulsification groups (P = 0.674).

The authors concluded that elderly patients deserve the same quality of care as younger patients, particularly with the rapid growth of the elderly population. Cataract surgery can significantly improve the visual outcome and quality of life for elderly patients.

Reference
Benzy M. Visual Outcome of Cataract Surgery in Elderly Population. Presented at: ASCRS Annual Meeting 2023.