[Intracameral anesthesia with lidocaine in cornea guttata].

BACKGROUND

Combined topical and intracameral anesthesia has become increasingly popular in cataract surgery. We analyzed the use of intracameral anesthesia in patients with corneal dystrophy who had undergone cataract surgery.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We measured the number of endothelial cells in 40 eyes with Fuchs' corneal endothelial dystrophy preoperatively as well as three times postoperatively (after 1 day, 4 weeks, and 3 months). Performing sponge anesthesia, the additional application of 0.15 ml lidocaine 1% was randomized.

RESULTS

The lidocaine group showed the following loss of endothelial cells in the central cornea: 1 day postoperatively 9.2%, 4 weeks later 9.7%, and 3 months after surgery 10.7%. The other group had a postoperative loss of endothelial cells in the central cornea of 8.8% (1 day), 9.3% (4 weeks), and 10.5% (3 months). No significant differences between the two groups were observed.

CONCLUSIONS

Cornea guttata is not a contraindication for the use of intraocular lidocaine.