Impact of Cataract Surgery in Restoration of Vision among Patients with Poor Pre-Operative Vision; A Tertiary Care Experience from Developing Country

Background: Cataract is defined as the opacity of lens which impedes the clear vision. Cataract surgery is performed to dislodge the opaque lens from the eye followed by the implantation of clear artificial intra-ocular lens to improve the vision of the patients.

Objective: To study the impact of cataract surgery on the restoration of visual acuity and vision related quality of life in patients with very poor pre-operative vision.

Materials and Methods: A case series study was conducted on 85 subjects, selected by non-probability purposive sampling. Study was done at Mayo hospital Lahore and study duration was 6 months i.e. from Jan, 2016 to June, 2016. Data was collected on visual function questionnaire after obtaining informed consent. Data analysis was done by using SPSS version 16.0. Both pre-operative (before operation) and post-operative data (after 2 weeks of operation) was collected from every subject. Data on visual outcome was classified using WHO classification.

Results: Out of 85 subjects, 41.2% were males and 58.8% were females. Pre-operatively 100% patients had visual acuity <6/60. 2 weeks after operation 60% had visual acuity 6/6-6/18, 29.4% had <6/18-6/60 and 10.6% had <6/60. 61.2% subjects had improvement in reading, 47.1% reduction in falls, 62.4% reduction in depression and 54.1% increase participation in gatherings.

Conclusion: Our study showed that cataract surgery had positive impact on visual acuity and vision related quality of life.

Keywords: impact, cataract surgery, visual restoration.