Clinical features and outcomes of phacoemulsification in 39 horses: a retrospective study (1993–2003)

Abstract

Prognosis for vision is favorable for horses following phacoemulsification and planned posterior continuous tear circular capsulorrhexis. Success rates depend on age of patient, cause of cataract and pre-existing intraocular disease. The highest success rate occurred in eyes with traumatic cataracts.

Surgical procedures of the lens and cataract

“…In the last reported series of 39 horses with 55 cataracts removed by phacoemulsification (Fife et al 2006), similar results were obtained. This has been corrected with the introduction of a longer phaco needle specifically designed for use in the equine eye (Acrivet, Hennigsdorf, Germany).…”

“…In the last 20 years or so, additional and more comprehensive reports of cataract surgery in the horse were published by Dziezyc and co-workers (1991Dziezyc and co-workers ( , 1992Dziezyc and co-workers ( , 1999, Brooks et al (1999Brooks et al ( , 2005Brooks et al ( , 2006, and Fife et al (2006). These studies used the current general anesthesia and neuromuscular paralysis methodologies, and provide the best results to date for the horse.…”

Surgical correction of lens luxation in the horse: visual outcomes

“…Most reliable reports of vision after successful cataract surgery in the horse indicate that vision is functionally normal, although the short and long-term results still need doi: 10.7243/2054-3425-2-2 to be carefully evaluated [23][24][25][26]. From an optical standpoint, the aphakic eye should be quite farsighted, or hyperopic, postoperatively and, in one study, was 19.94 D [26].…”

“…Recent advances in surgical techniques have increased the success of equine cataract surgery [1,5,11,[21][22][23][24][25][26][27]. Intracapsular lens extraction and phacoemulsification lens removal surgical procedures have both been utilized to successfully remove subluxated/luxated lenses in humans [28], dogs [29][30], and cats [31].…”

Evaluation of equine corneal endothelium after exposure to 0.5% indocyanine green - in vitro study

“…In cases of blindness due to cataract, surgical removal of the lens is the standard management. Phacoemulsification is the most useful technique in horses for the treatment of cataract (FIFE et al, 2006;HARDMAN et al, 2001;MILLICHAMP;DZIEZYC, 2000). Continuous curvilinear capsulorhexis (CCC) is considered the most important step of cataract removal, and the visualization of the lens capsule may impaired by the presence of white cataract, dense, with no reflection of the eye fundus (CHUNG et al, 2005;MELLES et al, 1999).…”