Incidence of re-surgery after manual small-incision cataract surgery at a tertiary eye-care center in South India

PURPOSE: To study the incidence of re-surgery after manual small-incision cataract surgery (MSICS) at a tertiary eye-care center in South India and to compare the re-surgery rate between trainees and experts. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted at a tertiary eye-care center in Andhra Pradesh state of South India, which included 19,515 patients who underwent MSICS between 2012 and 2022 with 369 eyes of 369 patients who underwent re-surgery within 1 week of primary surgery. Factors included demographic data, type of re-surgery, that is, wound re-suturing, IOL repositioning, cortical wash, as well as anterior chamber (AC) wash. RESULTS: 19,515 eyes from the year 2012–2022 were analyzed. Most of the patients undergoing re-surgery belonged to the age group of 61–70 years (40.3%). Wound re-suturing was the more frequently performed re-surgery (47.6%). Wound re-suturing rates were comparable between the trainees and experts, whereas IOL repositioning, cortical wash, and AC wash were higher in the cases performed by trainees though statistically not significant. CONCLUSION: Careful pre-operative assessment, training under supervision, and other measures can be taken to reduce the re-surgery rates. Timely diagnosis and early treatment can give better outcomes and prevent devastating complications like endophthalmitis.