Visual outcomes and complications of congenital cataract surgery

Purpose. - To describe the visual results and postoperative complications of congenital cataract surgeries performed between 2005 and 2016. Methods. - A retrospective consecutive case series of congenital cataract surgeries was carried out at the Dijon University Hospital in France. Intraocular lens implantation was primary or secondary according to age. Pre- and post-operative assessment was performed through ophthalmologic consultations with orthoptic measurements. Visual function and adverse events were recorded. Results. - Fifty-six consecutive procedures were evaluated in 37 infants. Overall, 26.8% of patients had unilateral cataracts, and 73.2% had bilateral cataracts. Median age at surgery was 1.0 years [IQR (interquartile range): 0.3-5.2] and 2.7 years [IQR: 0.4-9.5] for unilateral and bilateral cataracts, respectively. Median best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at the last follow-up was 0.5 logMAR [IQR: 0.2-0.8] and 0.1 logMAR [IQR: 0.0-0.8] for the unilateral and bilateral group, respectively. Posterior capsule opacification (PCO) was the primary postoperative complication: 60.0% in unilateral cataract and 46.3% in bilateral cataracts (P = 0.019). Median follow-up was 2.0 years [IQR: 1.0-5.0]. Conclusion. - Congenital cataract surgery appears to be safe and effective when combined with early, conscientious amblyopia treatment. Bilateral congenital cataracts had better visual outcome than unilateral cataract. (C) 2019 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.