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The effect of retrobulbar anesthesia for cataract surgery on the retinal nerve fiber layer thickness

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Abstract

Objective

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect retrobulbar and topical anesthesia on optic nerve by measuring retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness before and after phacoemulsification cataract surgery using optical coherence tomography (OCT).

Methods

A total of 126 eyes of 108 patients were included in the study. Retrobulbar anesthesia was used in 61 eyes of 53 patients, and topical anesthesia was used in 65 eyes of 55 patients. OCT scans were done 1 week before the surgery and 4 weeks after surgery, and the results were evaluated.

Results

The average RNFL thickness increased postoperatively in both groups (p < 0.001 for topical anesthesia group and p = 0.001 for retrobulbar anesthesia group). The preoperative and postoperative average and quadrant RNFL thickness and the change in RNFL thickness were not significantly different between the two anesthesia groups (p > 0.05).

Conclusion

Our results suggest that retrobulbar anesthesia has no unfavorable effect on the retinal nerve fiber layer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ophthalmology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Niğde Ömer Halisdemir University, Bor Street, 51240, Niğde, Turkey

    Erkut Küçük & Kürsad Ramazan Zor

Authors
  1. Erkut Küçük
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  2. Kürsad Ramazan Zor
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Correspondence to Erkut Küçük.

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There are no financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence the present study. The authors have no commercial, proprietary, and financial interest in the material presented in this manuscript.

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Küçük, E., Zor, K.R. The effect of retrobulbar anesthesia for cataract surgery on the retinal nerve fiber layer thickness. Int Ophthalmol 40, 1707–1712 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-020-01338-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-020-01338-z

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