Comparison of postoperative redness of eyes after sub-Tenon’s block and topical anaesthesia following phacoemulsification cataract surgery

Abstract

Editor—Sub-Tenon's block is an established simple, safe, and effective local anaesthetic technique for routine cataract surgery.¹ The technique involves insertion of a blunt cannula and injection of local anaesthetic agent under the Tenon's capsule after dissection with the help of scissors and forceps. The technique is inherently associated with intraoperative subconjunctival haemorrhage due to dissection and is reported to range from 25% to 100%.^2,3 Although subconjunctival haemorrhage is not known to hinder or influence the outcome of surgery,² most eyes intraoperatively appear red after sub-Tenon's block⁴ compared with mostly white looking eyes after topical anaesthesia as there is no injection involved. This technique is popular in Australia,⁵ New Zealand,⁶ and the UK⁷ but not so popular in many parts of the world probably due to unknown fear of postoperative red looking eyes.