Table 1 Overall use of anaesthetic techniques for cataract surgery in the United Kingdom in 2003.

	NHS	Private practice
A: All cataract surgery
General anaesthesia (GA)	4.1%	5.5%
Local anaesthesia (LA)	96.0%	93.5%
Without sedation	92.1%	85.8%
With sedation	3.9%	7.7%
No anaesthesia	0%	0%
B: Cataract surgery using LA
Peribulbar LA	30.6%	34.7%
Without sedation	28.5%	30.5%
With sedation	2.0%	4.2%
Retrobulbar LA	3.5%	4.7%
Without sedation	3.3%	4.4%
With sedation	0.2%	0.3%
Sub‐Tenon's LA	42.6%	35.1%
Without sedation	41.1%	33.3%
With sedation	1.5%	1.9%
Sub‐conjunctival LA	1.7%	2.5%
Without sedation	1.6%	2.4%
With sedation	0.1%	0.1%
Topical LA	9.9%	9.8%
Without sedation	9.6%	9.2%
With sedation	0.3%	0.6%
Topical‐intracameral LA	11.0%	11.9%
Without sedation	10.7%	10.5%
With sedation	0.3%	1.4%

Responses to a postal questionnaire survey of current practice, mailed to UK ophthalmologists. Pooled data from 699 respondents, of whom 642 provided data for practice in the National Health Service and 462 provided data for private practice. Section A: Pooled responses to the question “[for cataract operations performed by yourself or members of your surgical team], what is the usual frequency of the different types of anaesthesia?”. Section B: Pooled responses to the question “Of the cataracts that are performed using local anaesthesia, what is the usual frequency of the different techniques?”. Respondents gave an exact percentage estimate for their own usage of each technique. Columns do not all sum to 100% because of incomplete forms from some respondents and rounding of percentages. NHS, National Health Service.