Visual sensation during phacoemulsification using topical versus regional anesthesia.

摘要

In their article on visual sensation during phacoemulsification using topical versus regional anesthesia, Chung and coauthors1 erroneously attributed the postulation that "radiating wave-like visual patterns patients perceive during phacoemulsification surgery result from stimulation of photoreceptors by ultrasound energy released from the phaco probe" to Khan. This suggestion was, in fact, made by Verma.2'3 Khan proposed an optical explanation for the visualization of the phaco probe by patients.We conducted a similar study to compare the subjective visual experience of cataract patients during phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation using topical versus retrobulbar anesthesia. In this prospective randomized clinical trial, 306 cataract patients were randomized to receive topical or retrobulbar anesthesia during surgery by 1 of 3 experienced surgeons. The surgeons were familiar with both anesthetic techniques and used the one the patient was randomized to.