Effectiveness of Phacoemulsification Cataract Surgery in Hong Kong Chinese

1. Hilary K. Tsang¹
2. Hon Wah Yung
3. Chi Kin Ho²

¹Pok Oi Hospital, New Territories, Hong Kong
²Tuen Mun Hospital, New Territories, Hong Kong

Objectives: To describe the impact of cataract surgery on visual function and to identify factors that affect outcomes and predict gain in visual function.

Subjects and Methods: Observational longitudinal study of a cohort of 111 patients aged 50 or older undergoing phacoemulsification cataract surgery performed by the same surgeon. Patients were evaluated pre- and postoperatively at scheduled visits by clinical examinations and standardized interviews. Main outcome measures included best corrected visual acuity, refraction and the VF-14 Visual Function Index.

Results: Significant improvement in all outcomes measures were observed at 3 months postoperatively for all patients. Changes in LogMAR visual acuity and refractive spherical equivalent were -1.24 (p<0.0001) and 1.61(p<0.0001) respectively. VF-14 index improved from 69.0 at baseline to 95.2 at 3 month (p<0.001). Factors associated
with more gain in VF-14 were: worse preoperative VF-14, worse baseline better eye VA, gain in better eye VA, first eye operation, older age and type of cataract (posterior subcapsular and hypermature cataract).

Conclusions: A low preoperative VF-14 score was observed in the study population compared with other developed countries. Patients with poorer baseline visual function had more improvement in visual function. Fellow eye status played an important role in predicting overall gain in VF14.