Legacy of the Endophthalmitis Vitrectomy Study

ENDOPHTHALMITIS FOLLOWING CATARACT surgery is one of the most feared complications in ophthalmology. It has been estimated that approximately 1 case per 1000 cataract operations will be associated with this complication. Because there are more than 1.7 million cataract operations per year performed in the United States, 1 the magnitude of this problem is significant. Under the leadership of Bernard Doft, MD, and the National Eye Institute, the Endophthalmitis Vitrectomy Study (EVS) Group was organized in the late 1980s to undertake a prospective clinical trial (the EVS) evaluating the roles of pars plana vitrectomy and systemic antibiotics in the management of acute-onset endophthalmitis following cataract surgery or secondary intraocular lens implantation.