Trends in Resident Cataract Surgery Complication Rates Under A Single Experienced Supervising Attending

Purpose: To evaluate resident surgical complication rates under the supervision of an experienced attending surgeon over five years. Setting: A single academic medical center at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC. Design: Retrospective chart review Methods: Retrospective review of the first 30-50 cases performed by five classes of residents supervised by a single experienced attending surgeon with over twenty years of experience as a surgical educator. Data was collected from Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) surgical logs and operative notes. Preoperative risk factors, operative technique, and intraoperative complication rates were analyzed. Results: A total of 1028 cataract cases over the five-year study period were reviewed and 890 cases in 645 patients were included. The overall complication rate was 14.4% with no significant trend observed in the rate of intraoperative complications across study years. Multivariate analysis found that complications during cataract surgery were more likely to occur in eyes with a preoperative risk factor (p