Effect of age on visual acuity after cataract extraction.

The best Snellen visual acuity in the three months after cataract extraction was found to decline with the age of the patient. The relationship was identical in 111 patients who had extracapsular extraction and a Pearce tripod posterior chamber intraocular lens and in 50 patients who had intracapsular extraction with spectacle correction. Vision after operation varied from a mean value of 6/5 at 50 years to 6/12 at 90 years, a decline of 1 line per 13.