Loss of Vitreous in Cataract Extraction

This paper is a survey of 2,560 cataract extractions performed at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary between Jan. 1, 1915, and Jan. 1, 1925. This number does not include operations for traumatic or congenital cataract: it covers simply the ordinary senile cases. The object of this survey is twofold: (1) to find out whether or not loss of vitreous at operation really makes much practical difference to the patient in after years, and (2) to classify the complications occurring in the several types of cataract operations. The method employed was the study of the case records of all senile cataract operations for a ten-year period; and then, by follow-up letter and personal examination, a study of as many as possible of the cases in which vitreous had been lost. It is realized, of course, that in this series the operators were men of differing experience. Some were chief surgeons,