Peribulbar Versus Topical Anesthesia for Cataract Surgery; Patient?s Satisfaction

Abstract

Purpose: To compare the level of satisfaction in patients undergoing phacoemulsification and implantation of foldable intraocular lens under topical anesthesia in one eye and peribulbar block in the other eye.
Material and Methods: Fifty patients (100 eyes) planned for bilateral phacoemulcification with foldable intraocular lens implantation in the eye department Combined Military Hospital Multan were included in this cohort study. All patients underwent clear corneal incision. One eye of each patient was operated under topical anesthesia and the other eye with peribulbar block. Parameters like pain, discomfort and feeling of pressure during administration of anesthesia, during surgery and 4 hours after the procedure were assessed using visual analogue scale.
Results: Level of pain (p = 0.003), discomfort (p = 0.001) and feeling of pressure (p = 0.00) was very low during instillation of topical anesthesia as compared to administration of peribulbar block. Whereas intra-operatively feeling of pain (p = 0.020), discomfort (p = 0.010) and feeling of pressure (p = 0.005) was significantly high with topical anesthesia as compared to peribulbar block. However 4 hours post operatively pain (p = 0.000), discomfort (p = 0.000) and pressure (p = 0.000) was significantly lower in peribulbar group than topical group.
Conclusion: In patient’s undergoing phacoemulcification with foldable intraocular lens implantation, peribulbar block gives better patient comfort and satisfaction than topical anesthesia.