COMPARISON OF 0.5% ROPIVACAINE- 2% LIDOCAINE COMBINATION VERSUS 0.5% BUPIVACAINE-2% LIDOCAINE COMBINATION FOR PERIBULBAR BLOCK ANAESTHESIA IN MANUAL SMALL INCISION CATARACT SURGERY- AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY

Cataract surgery is one of the most commonly performed surgeries in ophthalmology which is done under regional anesthesia. With the nature of surgery being one that requires precision it is important to make sure that the regional anesthesia administered should provide a good blockade and of adequate duration for which Bupivacaine-Lidocaine combination has been the quintessential drug combination for providing peribulbar block anesthesia for cataract surgeries.

However Bupivacaine has been reported to have cardiovascular and neurological side effects. It can  inhibit cardiac conductivity and contractility and may induce ventricular fibrillations. Neurological adverse effect may include perioral numbness, CNS depression, seizures and respiratory depression.

Ropivacaine, a relatively newer drug on the other hand has a greater margin of safety with lesser cardiovascular and neurological side effects. Studies have been conducted with using 0.75% or 1% Ropivacaine without Lidocaine and not much studies have compared equal concentrations of the two drugs.

With this in consideration this study is designed to compare 0.5%Ropivacaine-2%Lidocaine combination with 0.5%Bupivacaine-2%Lidocaine combination for peribulbar block in manual small incision cataract surgery.