A Comparison of Patient Pain during Cataract Surgery with Topical Anesthesia in Prechop Manual Phacofragmentation Versus Phacoemulsification(cid:31)
Pipat Kongsap MD*, Cheocharn Wiriyaluppa MD*
Affiliation : (cid:31) Presented at the 20th Congress of the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, March 29, 2005 * Department of Ophthalmology, Prapokklao Hospital, Chantaburi
Objective : To compare the pain level and complications during cataract surgery with topical anesthesia in
Prechop MPF versus phacoemulsification.
Study
Design : Prospective randomized comparative study.
Materials and Methods : One hundred patients, undergoing small incision cataract surgery under topical
anesthesia, were allocated randomly to perform Prechop MPF (n = 50) or phacoemulsification (n = 50).
Patients were asked to rate their pain level on a 10-point visual analog pain scale during the administration
of the anesthetic, during the surgery and after surgery. The surgeon recorded his subjective assessment of
patient cooperation and surgical complications.
Results : The mean pain score during surgery was 1.64 + 1.48 (SD) in the prechop MPF group and 0.92 + 1.34
(SD) in the phacoemulsification group. The difference between groups was statistically significant (p = .001).
There was no significant difference in pain scores for delivery of anesthesia (p = .077), or after surgery (p = .221)
and no significant difference in patient cooperation (p = .446) and surgical complications in either group.
Conclusion : Patients having cataract surgery under topical anesthesia in the prechop MPF group had
more intraoperative pain than patients in the phacoemulsification group. However, there was no significant
difference in patient cooperation and surgical complications between the groups.
Keywords : Small incision cataract surgery, Manual phacofragmentation, Phacoemulsification, Topical anes- thesia, Pain score
