Background and aim
Local anesthesia nowadays became more popular in the ophthalmic surgery, especially in implantable collamer lens (ICL) procedure, with fewer complications and more patient satisfaction. Here we design a study to evaluate deep topical fornix nerve block (DTFNBA) versus topical anesthesia.
Methods
A double blinded randomized prospective controlled study of 107 eyes that were scheduled for implantable collamer lens procedure was included and divided randomly into two groups, group I topical anesthesia ( = 53), group II DTFNBA ( = 54). The two groups were monitored for pain and patient compliance.
Results
In group I, receiving topical anesthesia 27 patients (50.09%) reported pain, especially with implantation of the lens, tucking of the lens footplates and peripheral iridectomy that necessitated intracameral lidocaine injection. The others ( = 26) showed different grades of discomfort that was tolerated without the need for intracameral lidocaine. 40 patients (74.07%) in group II (DTFNBA), tolerated the surgery well, and slight discomfort was reported as a sensation of heaviness during the tucking of footplates. None of the patients had pain strong enough to require intracameral injection of lidocaine ( < 0.05).
Conclusions
Placing the anesthetic in the fornix makes the DTFNBA more effective and reliable block.