Silicone intraocular lens implantation in children: preliminary results

To evaluate the safety and outcome of foldable silicone intraocular lens (IOL) implantation in children.

Department of Ophthalmology, University of Giessen, Giessen, Germany.

The results of cataract extraction and silicone IOL implantation in children having surgery between 1992 and 1997 were retrospectively analyzed in 8 eyes (7 patients). All IOLs were implanted in the capsular bag through a 3.5 mm clear corneal incision. In 4 eyes, primary posterior capsulectomy and anterior vitrectomy were performed.

Mean patient age at the time of surgery was 5.1 years (range 8 months to 15 years). The surgeries were uneventful. All IOLs remained anatomically stable and well centered during the mean follow-up of 29.6 months (range 18 to 46 months). Postoperative inflammatory reaction was minimal. Neither fibrinoid exudation nor posterior synechias occurred postoperatively. Postoperative best spectacle-corrected visual acuity ranged from 20/800 to 20/20. All eyes with an intact posterior capsule developed posterior capsule opacification. In the 4 eyes that had primary posterior capsulectomy and anterior vitrectomy, the visual axis remained clear.

These preliminary results suggest that silicone IOL implantation in children is a safe procedure with good and stable short-term anatomic results. Longer follow-up is necessary to answer questions about the long-term safety of silicone lens implantation in a child's eye.