Treatment of congenital cataract

The visual prognosis for children with congenital cataracts has improved dramatically since it was first recognised that cataract surgery during infancy is critical for a good visual outcome1,2; however, the optimal time to perform cataract surgery in a child with a congenital cataract is still in question. Anecdotal reports have noted excellent visual outcomes in neonates undergoing cataract surgery during the first week of life1,3; however, a subsequent analysis of 45 children with dense unilateral cataracts, who underwent cataract surgery, found that the visual outcome was the same regardless of when the surgery was performed during the first 6 weeks of life.4 While the same analysis has not been performed on children with bilateral congenital cataracts, it has been proposed that the critical period for treating children with bilateral congenital cataracts may extend to 8 weeks of life.2,5,6 Paediatric ophthalmologists are now trying to determine the optimal time to perform cataract surgery to reduce the high …