A Polish study has found there’s no increased risk to patients who didn’t attend a follow up appointment in person the day after having standard phacoemulsification cataract surgery (PCS).

Researchers Professor Andrzej Grzybowski and Dr Piotr Kanclerz analysed 45 articles published between 1994 and 2017. They found the most common complications after PCS included corneal oedema, postoperative uveitis, intraocular pressure (IOP) elevation (which typically peaks at three to seven hours post-surgery), cystoid macular oedema and posterior capsule opacification, with most not requiring early surgical intervention.

Current literature does not support the concept of a first postoperative day (POD1) follow-up after uneventful PCS in patients without posterior synechiae or chronic/recurrent uveitis, who were operated on by experienced surgeons, they concluded. So, eliminating this routine check-up could result in significant healthcare savings without adding an increased risk to the patient.

Alternatives include a nurse-administered telephone questionnaire, shared-care with non-ophthalmologists and seeing the patient in cases of complaints, they said.