Outcomes and ocular growth rates after intraocular lens implantation in the first 2 years of life.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the outcomes and ocular growth after intraocular lens (IOL) implantation in the first 2 years of life.
SETTING: University-affiliated eye institute.
METHODS: The medical records of consecutive children under 24 months of age who had cataract extraction with IOL implantation were reviewed. Change in axial length over time, postoperative complications, need for additional surgery, predicted versus actual postoperative refraction, and visual outcomes were recorded. Complication rates were compared with those in a similar group of age-matched patients who were left aphakic at the time of surgery.
RESULTS: Twenty-two eyes of 17 patients aged 12 days to 22 months had IOL implantation. Length of follow-up ranged from 2 to 36 months (mean 14 months). Visual acuity measurement, limited to fixation-preference testing in most patients, revealed amblyopia in the operated eye in the majority of cases. Postoperative refractive error, predicted using the Holladay formula, showed a mean error in prediction of 1.5 diopters (D) (range -1.8 to 4.1 D). Serial axial lengths in 11 patients with a mean follow-up of 20 months showed no significant difference in growth in the fellow versus the operated eye. There was no significant difference in complication rates between pseudophakic patients and the age-matched aphakic group. However, in 14 of 32 aphakic eyes (44%), a notation in the chart indicated that the patient had stopped wearing glasses or contact lenses for at least 2 months.
CONCLUSION: Intraocular lens implantation appeared to be a safe and effective alternative to contact lens or spectacle correction of aphakia in children younger than 2 years of age. It may aid amblyopia treatment by eliminating periods of uncorrected aphakia.