Behavioral Science Considerations on Differences in 'Utility' according to the Order of Cataract Surgery Eyes

Abstract

To investigate whether there is a difference in satisfaction with vision after cataract surgery between the first eye operated on（eye 1）and the opposite eye（eye 2）．

142 cases with a total of 284 eyes that underwent bilateral cataract surgery at Kawamoto Eye Clinic were included. Among these cases, those with myopia of minus 1.0D or more in spherical equivalent before surgery formed the myopia group, while the rest formed the control group. Satisfaction with "vision" in eye 2 was assessed using a method that rated satisfaction with "vision" after surgery in eye 2 on a scale of plus 10 to minus 10, with "vision" after surgery in eye 1 set as 0.

There was no significant difference in visual acuity before and after cataract surgery. However, the "vision" satisfaction survey showed that both the myopic and control groups were significantly less satisfied with eye 2 compared to eye 1. Lower satisfaction with vision was observed in eye 2 compared to eye 1. This suggests that patients do not evaluate vision after cataract surgery on the basis of numerical measurements, but on the basis of perceived utility.