{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T01:30:31Z","timestamp":1760059831007,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,15]],"date-time":"2025-07-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1752537600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Vision"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Cataracts remain one of the leading causes of reversible blindness in low- and middle-income countries such as Ecuador. This study assessed the efficacy of Small Incision Cataract Surgery (SICS) and analyzed sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with postoperative visual outcomes. A retrospective multicenter analysis was conducted across six ophthalmology clinics along the Ecuadorian coast between 2023 and 2024, including 558 patients aged 30 years or older. Postoperative visual acuity, measured using the LogMAR scale, improved significantly (mean improvement of 0.525 LogMAR units in the right eye (OD) and 0.489 LogMAR units in the left eye; p &lt; 0.001). Ages between 60 and 69 years were associated with better outcomes in the right eye, while male sex was a protective factor against poor visual acuity in the left eye. Although diabetes mellitus and hypertension were prevalent, neither condition showed a significant association with postoperative visual outcomes. The findings confirm that SICS is a safe, effective, and cost-efficient surgical approach for restoring vision in resource-limited settings, supporting its inclusion in national public health strategies to reduce avoidable blindness in developing countries.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/vision9030060","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,15]],"date-time":"2025-07-15T09:45:52Z","timestamp":1752572752000},"page":"60","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Efficacy of Small Incision Cataract Surgery: A Multicenter Retrospective Study of Visual Outcomes in Coastal Ecuador"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"9","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8988-4663","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Roberto Ernesto","family":"Alc\u00edvar-Viteri","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de la Visi\u00f3n, Portoviejo 130105, Ecuador"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ver\u00f3nica Dolores","family":"Moreira-Pico","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de la Visi\u00f3n, Portoviejo 130105, Ecuador"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Carlos Iv\u00e1n","family":"G\u00f3mez-Cede\u00f1o","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Matem\u00e1ticas y Estad\u00edstica, Facultad de Ciencias B\u00e1sicas, Universidad T\u00e9cnica de Manab\u00ed, Portoviejo 130105, Ecuador"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5758-3775","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Julia Patricia","family":"Duran-Ospina","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health Sciences, Optometry Career, Universidad T\u00e9cnica de Manab\u00ed, Portoviejo 130105, Ecuador"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6692-7253","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Aline","family":"Siteneski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Direcci\u00f3n de Investigaci\u00f3n, Carrera de Medicina, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad T\u00e9cnica de Manab\u00ed, Portoviejo 130105, Ecuador"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9555-0392","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Karime","family":"Montes-Escobar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Matem\u00e1ticas y Estad\u00edstica, Facultad de Ciencias B\u00e1sicas, Universidad T\u00e9cnica de Manab\u00ed, Portoviejo 130105, Ecuador"},{"name":"Department of Statistics, University of Salamanca, 37008 Salamanca, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1133","DOI":"10.1038\/sj.eye.6701973","article-title":"The Impact of Vision 2020 on Global Blindness","volume":"19","author":"Foster","year":"2005","journal-title":"Eye"},{"key":"ref_2","first-page":"844","article-title":"Global Data on Visual Impairment in the Year 2002","volume":"82","author":"Resnikoff","year":"2004","journal-title":"Bull. 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