Name

L'effet de l'anesthésie rétrobulbaire pour la phacoémulsification sur l'épaisseur de la couche des fibres nerveuses

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of retrobulbar and topical anesthesia on the optic nerve by measuring the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness before and after phacoemulsification cataract surgery using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT).

A prospective, comparative hospital-based study of 68 eyes of 43 patients, with no other ocular morbidity except for cataract and planned for phacoemulsification with IOL implantation. Retrobulbar anesthesia was used in 42 eyes, and topical anesthesia was used in 26 eyes. All patients underwent imaging with SD-OCT at baseline and 1-month follow-up.

The mean age of subjects was 59.4± 14.6 years (29 males, 14 females). The average RNFL thickness increased postoperatively in both groups (p < 0.001 for topical anesthesia group and p = 0.003 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).

These results are consistent with the results of similar studies showing that the effect of local anesthetics on the optic nerve function is temporary.

A significant increase in RNFL thickness was observed after cataract surgery using SD-OCT. Our results suggest that retrobulbar anesthesia has no unfavorable effect on the retinal nerve fiber layer.