Results of out-patient cataract surgery in patients who live far from the surgeon.

We have performed this prospective study to address the question of whether there is an association between the outcome following cataract surgery and the distance from the patient's home to the place of surgery. Three hundred and forty consecutive out-patient extracapsular cataract extractions were evaluated. According to the distance, the cases were grouped into two categories, 183 cases in the nearest group (Group 1) and 157 cases in the farthest group (Group 2). A best corrected visual acuity of 0.5 or better was achieved in 90% of patients, 6 between the groups. No significant differences in rates for operative and postoperative complications were identified. This study does not show that the distance from the patient's home to the surgical site has had any adverse effect of surgical outcome or in rates of complications.