Intraoperative Complications during Phacoemulsification in Cataract Surgery at a Tertiary Care Hospital

Background: Intraoperative and postoperative complications do occur in phacoemulsification technique especially with inexperienced individuals. Being a tertiary care centre, we perform a number of phacoemulsification surgeries every year. Aims and Objectives: The present study was planned to assess the intraoperative complications during phacoemulsification in cataract surgery and determine the visual outcomes after phacoemulsification for cataract. Material and Methods: It was a prospective observational study involving patients undergoing cataract surgery, conducted at Department of Ophthalmology, at Dr. Vasantrao Pawar Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, Nashik, Maharashtra. The study was conducted over two years between August 2018 to November 2020 among 186 eyes. Results: Rate of intraoperative complication in our study was 9.1%. Among the complications, difficulty in nucleus emulsification (5.4%) was most common followed by posterior capsular rent (2.2%), CCC-related complication (1.6%). Iris prolapse occurred in 1.1% whereas detachment of Descemet’s membrane, vitreous loss and nucleus drop were noted in one (0.5%) patient each. Conclusions: In our study, rates of intraoperative complication was 9.1% that is comparable to previous reports. Difficulty in nucleus emulsification was most complication