Article

Study highlights wound burn risk and risk factors

Washington, DC &#8212 Significant wound burn occurs in about 1 in 1,000 cases of phacoemulsification, but its incidence is influenced by surgical technique, reported Randall J. Olson, MD.

April 19 - Washington, DC - Significant wound burn occurs in about 1 in 1,000 cases of phacoemulsification, but its incidence is influenced by surgical technique, reported Randall J. Olson, MD.

Data on clinically important wound burns were collected through a Web-based questionnaire from surgeons in five Western states. A total of 106 responses were received, representing about 76,500 cases of cataract removal by phacoemulsification. There were 75 cases of wound burn reported. Of those, 53 (71%) occurred during fragment removal, and occlusion was recognized by the surgeon in 24 (32%) cases.

Multivariate analyses revealed that use of continuous power and a divide-and-conquer technique were significant risk factors for wound burn. Use of ultrapulse power modulation with Sovereign WhiteStar (AMO) and a chop approach, particularly vertical chop, were highly protective.

The rate of wound burn associated with the WhiteStar procedure was 0.026% compared with 0.18% for surgeries performed with continuous power. Wound burn occurred during 0.026% of cases performed using a vertical chop approach compared with 0.13% of those employing divide and conquer.

"I am not aware of any other study with such a larger number of wound burns, and this dataset allowed us to analyze risk factors. I believe wound burn is a preventable problem and that we should be looking more carefully into the effects of power modulations and technique," Dr. Olson said.

Dr. Olson is a consultant to AMO but received no financial support for this study.

Newsletter

Don’t miss out—get Ophthalmology Times updates on the latest clinical advancements and expert interviews, straight to your inbox.

Related Videos
(Image credit: Ophthalmology Times) NeuroOp Guru: When eye findings should prompt neuroimaging in suspected neuro-Behcet disease
At the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) meeting, Katherine Talcott, MD, a retina specialist at Cleveland Clinic, shared her findings on EYP-1901 (EyePoint Pharmaceuticals) in the phase 2 DAVIO study.
Dr. Jogin Desai, founder of Eyestem Research, discusses his research at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.
(Image credit: Ophthalmology Times) ASCRS 2025: Michael Rivers, MD, shares his takeaways as a panelist at the inaugural SightLine event
(Image credit: Ophthalmology Times) ASCRS 2025: Karl Stonecipher, MD, on LASIK outcomes using an aspheric excimer laser for high myopia
John Tan talks about an emergency triage framework for retinal artery occlusion at the 2025 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) meeting.
Dr Robert Maloney at the 2025 Controversies in Modern Eye Care meeting
Wendy Lee, MD, MS, at Controversies in Modern Eye Care 2025.
© 2025 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.