Outcome of cataract surgery by a general medical doctor at district level, Zimbabwe: a retrospective follow-up study.

From January 1990 until October 1992, 103 Zimbabwean patients underwent intracapsular cataract extraction by a general medical doctor. Of the first 100 patients operated upon, 50 were traced of which 37 could be assessed adequately. Operative complications and visual acuities after three months show that this is an effective means of restoring sight, but that a longer period of training of a general medical doctor than one month is adviseable. Twenty-five patients (68%) have a vision of 3/60 or better, which would have been 34 patients (92%) if post-operative refraction and adequate provision of glasses had been provided. The careful attention required regarding patients' needs and refraction is stressed by the authors. The study or better this factual report suggests that cataract surgery performed by a general medical doctor is an alternative for clearing the cataract backlog in developing countries.