Ocular anesthesia for cataract surgery: a direct sub-Tenon's approach.

We describe a new technique in which ocular anesthesia is obtained by dissection of the superior quadrants, as in strabismus or retinal surgery, followed by direct infusion of the retrobulbar space with local anesthetic agent, using a blunt 19-gauge cannula. In 112 cases of cataract surgery in which we used this direct sub-Tenon's approach, we found it to be a safe, simple, and effective method of achieving rapid ocular anesthesia.