VISUAL OUTCOME AFTER CATARACT SURGERY- FROM LITERATURE

Dr. Ragni Kumari, Sunil Gupta, Vishwdeep Mishra*, Jamshed Ali, Salal Khan and Dr. Rajiv Janardhanan

ABSTRACT

Blindness and visual impairment are major public health issues globally, including in India. Cataract is the leading cause of blindness, followed by glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, refractive errors, trachoma, and childhood blindness. The financial burden of vision impairment is significant, with an estimated annual global cost of productivity losses of US$ 411 billion. Most blind individuals (82%) and those with visual impairment (65%) are over the age of 50. Uncorrected refractive errors and cataract are the main causes of visual impairment. Alarmingly, 2.2 billion people worldwide suffer from vision impairment, and in almost half of these cases, the impairment could have been prevented. The World Health Organization (WHO) is working with Member States and partners to eliminate avoidable causes of blindness through national comprehensive eye care programs under the VISION 2020 initiative. Progress has been made, with the prevalence of blindness decreasing to 32 million by 2010. In 2013, the WHO set a goal to reduce avoidable blindness by 25% by 2019. However, studies have shown that poor visual outcomes after cataract surgery remain a major problem. Factors contributing to this issue include other eye diseases, surgical complications, inadequate correction, and long-term complications. Addressing these challenges is crucial to ensure better visual outcomes and utilization of cataract surgical services.

Keywords: Cataract, SICS, Phacoemulsification, Visual Outcome, Surgery.