A study recently published in the Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology reveals that cataract surgery patients who received an ocular bandage after surgery reported fewer complaints compared to patients who did not have an ocular bandage.
Postoperative eye bandage use varies among ophthalmologists. The various options include an eye patch, eye shield, immediate eyesight or an ocular bandage. The focus of the study was to review and compare the data on the different eye protection options.
Researchers examined original comparative articles that reported on subjective symptoms, which included foreign-body sensation, photophobia, tearing and pain as well as postoperative outcomes, which included best-corrected visual acuity and tear film breakup time after using one of the eye protection methods.
What researchers found was that patients who received ocular bandages self-reported symptoms at an equal or lower rate when compared to other treatment options. In addition, researchers found that the ocular bandage enhanced tear film breakdown time and improved corneal wound healing when compared to a control group.
Additional studies will be needed for postopertive eye protection after cataract surgery.
