Current Trends in Cataract Surgery in Thailand - 2004 Survey
Winai Chaidaroon MD*, Narong Tungpakorn MD**, Piyathida Puranitee MD*
Affiliation : * Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai ** Department of Ophthalmology, Sawanpracharak Hospital, Nakhonsawan
Objectives : To survey and investigate the current trend of cataract surgery in Thai ophthalmologists in 2004.
Materials and Methods : Questionnaires were sent to 600 ophthalmologists who were the members of the
Ophthalmological Society and Royal Colleges of Ophthalmologists of Thailand. Data received from 248
(41.3%) of the recipients were analyzed and compared with those from the previous survey.
Results : The majority of respondents were male (63.3%) while 36.7% were female. In cataract surgery, 99.2%
were still doing cataract surgery, the average number of cataract surgery procedures per surgeon per month
was 25.6, 89.8% preferred phacoemulsification, and 42.5% preferred acrylic lens. The posterior capsular tear
was the most common complication.
Conclusion : There are trends toward more cataract surgical procedures performed by a surgeon, increasing
preference of topical anesthesia, small incision wound and foldable acrylic lenses which reflected the popu-
larity of phacoemulsification.
Keywords : Cataract, Intraocular lenses, Phacoemulsification, Extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE), Intracapsular cataract extraction (ICCE)
