Cataract surgery without a phacoemulsification device during a humanitarian mission in benin: outcomes of manual small-incision cataract surgery and extracapsular cataract extraction.
Corneal swelling was more common after extracapsular cataract extraction than manual small-incision surgery
Cataract surgery without a phacoemulsification device during a humanitarian mission in benin: outcomes of manual small-incision cataract surgery and extracapsular cataract extraction.
To describe preoperative triage and compare early postoperative complications after manual small-incision cataract surgery (manual small-incision cataract surgery) and extracapsular cataract extraction (extracapsular cataract extraction) performed during a humanitarian mission in Benin, where no phacoemulsification device was available.
Medical records and operative reports from 1,280 individuals examined during a humanitarian cataract mission in Porto-Novo, Benin, between November 25 and December 6, 2024, were retrospectively reviewed.
signs of corneal clouding and swelling were seen after extracapsular surgery
Among the 125 operated patients, 79 underwent manual small-incision cataract surgery and 46 underwent extracapsular cataract extraction.
Aphakia occurred in 6 patients (4.8%), IOL dislocation in 3 (2.4%), marked endothelial edema in 11 (8.8%), postoperative IOP elevation in 12 (9.6%), and corneal suture dehiscence in 1 (0.8%).
3/79 [3.8%]; p = 0.018).
No significant between-group differences were observed for aphakia (p = 0.192), IOL dislocation (p = 0.554), IOP elevation (p = 0.533), or corneal suture dehiscence (p = 0.368).
In settings without a phacoemulsification device, manual small-incision cataract surgery and extracapsular cataract extraction can be performed during humanitarian missions when experienced surgeons, careful preoperative triage, and appropriate postoperative assessment are available.
manual small-incision cataract surgery may offer practical advantages where follow-up is limited because it generally avoids routine corneal suture removal.
Because technique and surgeon were not independently separable in this nonrandomized study, the observed differences should not be interpreted as purely technique-related.