Thrombocytopenia and clear corneal incision cataract surgery

Abstract

Clear corneal incision cataract surgery with pupillary expansion devices and local anesthetic injections can be safely performed in patients with thrombocytopenia.

Comment on: Thrombocytopenia and clear corneal incision cataract surgery

“…We read with great interest the study by Reilly et al, in which the authors described complications and outcomes of clear corneal incision cataract surgery in a large cohort of patients with thrombocytopenia. 1 In their retrospective review, the authors found only 2 cases (1%) of intraoperative iris hemorrhage of 196 eyes from 150 thrombocytopenic patients. This study provides evidence that preoperative testing for thrombocytopenia before cataract surgery is unlikely to benefit patients.…”

“…Perioperative preparation for thrombocytopenic or anticoagulated patients is challenging for surgeons, with the obvious risk being intraoperative bleeding. 1–5 Recently, we have retrospectively studied the hematologic and ocular factors that may affect intraocular hemorrhage risk during clear cornea cataract surgery in anticoagulated patients. In 299 patients taking anticoagulants for at least 6 months, 16 of 229 eyes (6.9%) experienced intraoperative hemorrhage (ie, iris bleeding) (Table 1).…”