Comparison of Topical Versus Sub‑Tenon’s Anesthesia in Phacoemulsification at a Tertiary Care Eye Hospital

Purpose: To compare the effectiveness of topical and sub‑Tenon’s anesthesia in providing pain relief during phacoemulsification. Methods: This randomized controlled trial was carried out at a tertiary eye care hospital, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. Patients who underwent phacoemulsification through self‑sealing clear corneal incision with foldable intra‑ocular lens implantation were randomized into two groups. Group 1 (n = 100) received topical anesthesia with 0.5% proparacaine (Paracaine, Sunways India Pvt. Ltd., India) drops. Group 2 (n = 100) received sub‑Tenon’s infiltration with 2% lignocaine (Xylocaine, AstraZeneca Pharma India Pvt. Ltd., India). As per study criteria, patients graded the pain during administration of anesthesia, during surgery and after surgery on a visual analogue pain scale. The surgeon graded overall patient co‑operation. The complications were also noted. Data analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 11. Student’s t‑test and Chi‑square test were used for comparison of variables between the groups. Results: Sub‑Tenon’s anesthesia provided statistically significant better intra‑operative pain relief and patient satisfaction than topical anesthesiat. No statistically significant difference was noted between the two groups regarding pain during administration, postoperative pain, and surgeon satisfaction. Conclusion: Sub‑Tenon’s anesthesia provides better pain relief than topical anesthesia during phacoemulsification.