ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Postcataract surgery outcome in a series of infants and children with Down syndrome
The Childrens University Hospital, Temple Street, Dublin 1, Ireland
Correspondence to:
Professor M OKeefe, Eye Department, The Childrens University Hospital, Temple Street, Dublin 1, Ireland; mokeefe{at}materprivate.ie
Aims: To report the visual and refractive outcome and complications in children with Down syndrome undergoing cataract extraction.
Methods: The case notes of 18 infants and children with lens opacities and Down syndrome who underwent cataract extraction between January 1981 and August 2006 were reviewed.
Results: Over the 25-year study period, 7% (33 eyes) of paediatric eyes undergoing cataract extraction had Down syndrome. The average follow-up time was 11.2 (SD 7.5) years with a range of 2.5 months to 25 years. 25 were congenital, and eight were developmental lens opacities. 40% of patients attained a postoperative BCVA between 6/9 and 6/18. There was a large myopic shift of –7.96 (4.7) D for aphakes and –8.06 (7.4) D for pseudophakes with an average increase in axial length of 3.58 (3.14) mm. There was a 30% incidence of posterior capsular opacification (PCO) overall, 38% in eyes without a primary posterior capsulotomy. Five eyes developed aphakic glaucoma, one eventually necessitating an enucleation. Two patients had retinal detachments on follow-up.
Conclusion: Cataract extraction in our population of children with Down syndrome is a safe and effective procedure with a very encouraging visual outcome.
Competing interests: None.
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