Preoperative Management of Cataract Surgery Candidates: An Evaluation of Their Perception and Preferences

Purpose: To assess the primary visual disability in patients with cataract and to evaluate their preference regarding the visual outcome after surgery. Materials and Methods: 120 patients (66 males, mean age 76.3 years, mean best corrected visual acuity 5.2/10 binocularly) participated. Perception regarding the primary visual disability related to cataract and preference of visual outcome after surgery were assessed by a questionnaire. All study procedures adhered to the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki for research involving human subjects, and all participants gave written informed consent before their participation. Results: 74 patients (61.6%) had difficulty in distant vision, 5 (4.2%) in near vision, 17 (14.2%) mentioned blurred vision, 14 (11.7%) difficulty in driving especially at night, 7 (5.8%) complained about monocular diplopia and 3 (2.5%) about anisometropia. All mentioned that they preferred to obtain clear distant and near vision after cataract surgery. Conclusions: There was an interesting variety in visual disability related to cataract. The difficulty in distant vision was the primary visual deficit in the majority of the patients and the preference for clear distant and near vision was the desired postoperative visual outcome.