Intraoperative Complications of Cataract Surgeries in Iran: 2000-2005 Iranian Cataract Surgery Survey

Purpose: To determine the incidence and determinants of intraoperative complications of cataract surgeries performed in Iran during 2000 to 2005 Methods: The Iranian Cataract Surgery Survey (ICSS) is a retrospective study in which random sampling was done from selected centers. One week per season between 2000 and 2005 was assigned to each center and records of cataract surgeries performed during these weeks were studied to determine the type of surgery, the type of cataract, and intraoperative complications. Results: A total of 13,409 records of cataract surgery were reviewed. The rate of intraoperative complications was 3.03% [95% confidence interval (CI): 2.5-3.5%]. Intraoperative complications were not significantly correlated with age or gender. The most common complication was posterior capsule rupture (PCR) with a rate of 2.82% (95% CI: 2.2-3.4%) followed by vitreous loss (2.76%; 95% CI: 2.2-3.32%). Subconjunctival hemorrhage and nucleus drop into the vitreous occurred in 0.21% and 0.01% of surgeries, respectively. The risk of intraoperative complications was highest with intracapsular cataract surgery (36.17%) and lowest with phacoemulsification (2.29%). In terms of type of cataract, intraoperative complications were highest with traumatic cataract (12.55%) and lowest with senile cataract (2.77%). Conclusion: Risk of intraoperative complications is lowest with phacoemulsification compared to other methods of cataract surgery. Cataract surgery in Iran, compared to developed countries, does not suffer much from complications such as PCR and vitreous loss.