ABSTRACT
Ophthalmic surgeons have witnessed a significant evolution in surgical techniques for cataract extraction in the 20th century (Fig. 8.1). The most remarkable advance is, of course, the considerable decrease in the size of the wound incision.1 Anesthetic techniques for cataract surgery have also advanced significantly (Fig. 8.2).2 General anesthesia was preferred in past years, followed by various techniques of injectable anesthesia including retrobulbar, peribulbar, sub-tenon, and sub-conjunctival anesthesia. Due to marked improvements in surgical techniques, it is no longer essential to ensure
complete akinesia of the eye and as a consequence, the technique of topical anesthesia has been popularized as “phaco anesthesia” in the USA, according to recent survey of Leaming.3 Topical anesthesia includes eye drops application, sponge anesthesia, eye drops plus intracameral injection, and most recently a combination of viscoelastic and anesthetic agent termed as-“viscoanesthesia”.
