“Only rarely seen in dreams”—visual experiences during cataract surgery
- 1William Harvey Hospital, Head and Neck Directorate, Kennington Road, Willesborough, Kent, TN24 0LZ, UK
- 2Leeds General Hospital, UK
- Correspondence to: Frank C Schlichtenbrede East Kent Hospitals, William Harvey Hospital, Head and Neck Directorate, Kennington Road, Willesborough, Kent, TN24 0LZ, UK; f.schlichtenbredeucl.ac.uk
- Accepted 6 July 2004
Cataract surgery is the most commonly performed elective surgery in many countries including the United Kingdom.1 With the majority of procedures performed under local anaesthesia, it is important for surgeons to recognise if patients are indeed visually aware of their environment. Understanding their experience would be a step forward in providing the safest and the most effective ophthalmic care to cataract patients.
Clinical significance of patients’ visual experience lies in the fact that a large number of patients are frightened by their experience, which potentially leads to a number of problems. …







