Abstract:
Purpose: According to World Health Organization (WHO), cataract is the leading cause of
blindness and visual impairment throughout the world. Post-operative refractive error is one
of the commonest reasons for poor visual outcome after cataract surgery especially in
developing countries where the standard modern biometry equipments are not available.
The objective of this study was to assess the refractive outcome of cataract surgery done at
University of Gondar (UoG) Tertiary Eye Care and Training Center, North West Ethiopia.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was done on 66 patients who had undergone
manual small incision cataract surgery (MSICS) and fulfilled the inclusion criteria at UoG
Tertiary Eye Care and Training Center from July 15 2019 to October 15 2019.
Results: From 90 post-operatively refracted eyes, 58 (64.4%) eyes achieved a target refraction of ±1.00 Diopter (D). The right and left eyes achieved mean post-operative refraction SE
of −0.073±1.45D and −0.93±1.70 D, respectively. But only 54 (60%) eyes were implanted
with the calculated IOL power and for the remaining 40% the calculated IOL was not
available at the store. And the target (Good) post-operative uncorrected visual acuity
(UCVA) and best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was achieved in 66.7% and 82.2% eyes,
respectively.
Conclusion: The post-operative refractive outcome after cataract surgery at the center is
low. For over one-third of operated eyes, the calculated IOL was not implanted due to the
absence of the required IOL power at the store and, therefore, a wide range of IOL power
should be available at the center
