Increased risk for post-operative corneal injuries in patients who undergo laparoscopic gynecologic surgery

Background The objective of this study was to verify whether or not the incidence of post‐operative corneal injuries (PCIs) in patients who undergo laparoscopic gynecologic surgery is higher than patients who undergo non‐laparoscopic gynecologic surgery. Methods The peri‐operative variables were extracted from the medical records of patients who underwent gynecologic surgery under general anesthesia at our institute between January 2004 and June 2010. The extracted variables were age, day of week of surgery, type of surgery (laparoscopy vs. non‐laparoscopy), surgical scheduling (elective vs. emergent), pre‐operative hemoglobin, surgery time, peri‐operative transfusions, and PCIs. The association of peri‐operative variables with PCIs was examined using univariate and multivariate analyses. Results A total of 6992 consecutive patients were included in this study. PCIs occurred in 23 patients (0.3%). Based on univariate analysis, the type of surgery and surgery times were associated with PCIs. Based on multivariate analysis, laparoscopy and lengthy surgery times significantly increased the risk for PCIs. The median duration of PCI symptoms was 3 days (range, 1–11 days); no patient had long‐term sequalae. Conclusion Laparoscopic gynecologic surgery increases the incidence of PCI compared with non‐laparoscopic gynecologic surgery.