Sir,

We appreciate the comments from Kolli and Vempali. This study is a measure of visual outcome in patients undergoing complicated phacoemulsification cataract surgery requiring an anterior vitrectomy. A successful visual outcome is defined as the best-corrected visual acuity of 6/12 or better. In an attempt to isolate the effect of anterior vitrectomy on the visual outcome of cataract surgery, we excluded patients with pre-existing ocular conditions that may have affected the final visual outcome not withstanding any surgical complications. Thus, we believe that our study is a more realistic reflection of visual outcome in complicated cataract surgery in those having no pre-existing problem. We feel that the 86% figure found is a comparatively good result, but this objective figure is obviously open to subjective interpretation.

We have acknowledged that there was a correlation between the rate of vitreous loss during phacoemulsification and the level of inexperience of the surgeon, which is purely an observational correlation. We also agree with their comments that more emphasis on surgical training of junior ophthalmologists could, in theory, decrease surgical complication rates.