Background: In patients with bilateral cataracts and contraindications for local anaesthesia a simultaneous bilateral cataract extraction under general anaesthesia is worth considering.
Patients and methods: The retrospective study includes all 19 patients (aged 58 to 94 years, mean age 81.5 years) who underwent simultaneous bilateral cataract extraction at our hospital in a period of two years. While the majority of patients had bilateral phacoemulsification, five eyes of three patients underwent planned extracapsular cataract extraction. The preoperative ophthalmic and anaesthetic data and the perioperative and postoperative follow-up data are evaluated. Additionally patient satisfaction and financial aspects are investigated (coverage of the second eye surgery by health-insurance).
Results: In none of the 19 patients did severe complications occur. The majority of patients showed a fast visual rehabilitation with a striking improvement in their quality of life. The majority of eyes (20/38; 52.6 %) achieved a visual acuity of 20/30 or better. The analysis of financial aspects disclosed disadvantages for the hospital.
Conclusions: Simultaneous bilateral cataract extraction can be considered as a safe and effective method for a selective group of patients with bilateral cataracts.