Effect of wet-laboratory training on resident performed manual small-incision cataract surgery.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to study the effect of wet-laboratory training on the surgical outcome of resident performed manual small-incision cataract surgery (MSICS).

Methods: We conducted a retrospective, comparative observational study on resident performed MSICS in our institute. We collected data of 464 patients of which Group A had 232 cases performed by residents without prior wet-laboratory training and Group B had 232 resident performed cases after adequate skill training in the wet laboratory. The demographics, type of cataract, intraoperative, postoperative complications, and immediate visual outcome were compared between the two groups.

Results: The age, sex, and type of cataract were similar in both groups of residents. The frequency of intraoperative complications was higher in Group A (23.7%) than in Group B (15.08%) (P = 0.019). The occurrence of posterior capsule (PC) rupture and vitreous loss showed a statistically significant difference, with Group A showing a high rate of 14.3% PC rent and vitreous loss while only 6.9% (P = 0.01) had this complication in Group B. The postoperative visual outcome also was better in Group B than in Group A, with 62.06% of patients in Group B, having a postoperative day 1 vision of better than 6/18 as compared to only 38.36% in Group A.

Conclusion: The wet-laboratory training is an effective method of improving the skills of the ophthalmology residents in MSICS. The reduction of complications will improve the quality of surgery and improve the postoperative visual outcome.