Outcomes of manual small incision cataract surgery under topical anesthesia with lignocaine 2% jelly.

INTRODUCTION: The manual small incision cataract surgery (MSICS) is the surgery of choice in countries with a huge back-log of cataract blindness.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the outcome of manual small incision cataract surgery (MSICS) under topical anesthesia with lignocaine 2 % jelly.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was a prospective interventional case series. One hundred and twenty eight patients of senile cataract were operated by MSICS under topical anesthesia using lignocaine 2% jelly. No intra-cameral anesthesia was used. The patients and the single operating surgeon were given a questionnaire to evaluate their experience in terms of pain, surgical experience and complications.
RESULTS: The mean pain score was 0.82 (SD +/- 0.97). Seventy-one patients (55.4 %) had a pain score of zero, that is, no pain. One hundred and twenty one patients (94.5 %) had a score of 3 or less, that is, mild to none pain. All the surgeries except two were complication- free and the surgeon's experience was favorable in terms of the patient's cooperation, anterior chamber stability, difficulty, and complications.
CONCLUSIONS: MSICS can be performed under topical anesthesia with lignocaine jelly, which makes the surgery patient-friendly, without compromising the outcome. © NEPjOPH.