HIGH-RISK EYES Recognising ‘high-risk’ eyes before cataract surgery Parikshit Gogate Mark Wood Head, Department of Paediatric Ophthalmology, Community Consultant Ophthalmologist, CCBRT Hospital, Eye Care, HV Desai Eye Hospital, Pune 411028, India. Box 23310, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Email:
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[email protected] Certain eyes are at a higher risk of compli- Conjunctivitis should be treated with cation during cataract surgery. Operations topical antibiotics prior to intraocular on such ‘high-risk’ eyes are also more likely surgery. to yield a poor visual outcome (defined as Noble Bruce best corrected vision less than 6/60 after Potential visualisation surgery).1 Learning to recognise when eyes are at problems during surgery greater risk, and acting accordingly, will help Corneal opacity you to avoid complications. Even so, before Leucoma-grade opacity will make your task the operation takes place, it is good practice Conjunctivitis extremely difficult. You will find it difficult to to explain to such patients that a poor see details, in particular the capsulotomy. outcome is a possibility. This makes these There may be residual lens matter • Measuring intraocular pressure. It is patients’ expectations more realistic and remaining in the bag, which will be difficult important to measure intraocular pressure improves postoperative compliance and to see. It will also be challenging to place in all patients, for example to identify follow-up. In most cases, patients who are the intraocular lens (IOL) in the posterior glaucoma. blind with complicated cataract will be chamber with both haptics under the iris. • A fundus examination. The fundus can happy with even a modest improvement of be seen through all but the densest Patients suffering from trachoma with their vision.