Simultaneous Bilateral Cataract Surgery in General Anesthesia Patients

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the indications, safety, benefits, disad-vantages and advantages, and the visual outcomes for simultaneous bilateral cataract surgery (SBCS) under general anesthesia. Methods: This retrospective case review pertained to a period spanning from June 1998 through June 2005 inclusively, and comprised of 27 consecutive patients (54 eyes) that underwent simultaneous bilateral cataract surgery under general anesthesia at the Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan. Surgery modalities included phacoemulsification, extracapsular cataract extraction, lens aspiration and intraocular lens implantation. Outcome measures included postoperative best correct visual acuity (BCVA) as well as intraoperative and postoperative complication rates. Due to the bipolas distribution of the age, we arbitrarily divided our cases into younger group (Group Y, younger than 20 years old) and older group (Group O, equal to or older than 20 years old). Results: Thirty-eight of the 54 eyes (60 % in the younger group and 76.5 % in th