Clinical characteristics and surgical outcomes of pediatric cataract in Taiwan
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 9, 2026
Surgical Correction for Pediatric Epiblepharon and Trichiasis
Published on: July 8, 2025
Meng-Ling Yang1, Chiun-Ho Hou, Jiahn-Shing Lee
1Department of Ophthalmology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, 5, Fu-Shing Street, Kweishan 333, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Insights
Pediatric cataract surgery outcomes improved with intraocular lens (IOL) implantation. Early IOL implantation in children with congenital or developmental cataracts enhances visual rehabilitation, even in very young patients.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Pediatric Surgery
Background:
- Congenital and developmental cataracts affect pediatric vision.
- Effective surgical interventions are crucial for visual rehabilitation in children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To report on the treatment of pediatric cataract patients.
- To evaluate the efficiency of different surgical interventions for pediatric cataracts.
Main Methods:
- A consecutive series of pediatric patients with cataracts undergoing surgery between 1993-2002.
- Data collected included demographics, cataract type, surgical intervention, and visual outcomes.
- Patients were grouped by surgical approach: lensectomy alone, lensectomy with secondary IOL, or lensectomy with primary IOL.
Main Results:
- 399 eyes from 246 children were analyzed.
- Primary intraocular lens (IOL) implantation (Group 3) resulted in the highest rate of visual acuity better than 20/60 (63.4%).
- Age at onset was the only significant factor related to visual outcome (P=0.011).
Conclusions:
- Intraocular lens implantation is an effective treatment for visual rehabilitation in pediatric cataract patients.
- This approach is beneficial even for children aged 2 years and younger.
- Surgical interventions, particularly those involving IOLs, significantly improve visual outcomes in pediatric cataracts.
Purpose:
To report treatment of pediatric patients with cataract, and evaluate the efficiency of different surgical interventions.
Method:
This study comprised a consecutive series of pediatric patients with congenital or developing cataract who received surgery between 1993 and 2002 at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taiwan. Patients' demographics, cataract type, presenting symptoms, surgical intervention, postoperative visual acuity, and follow-up refractive changes were recorded.
Results:
Three hundred and ninety-nine eyes of 246 children were included; unilateral cataract was present 21.8% of the eyes. The age at surgery was ranged from 1 to 157 months. Eyes were grouped by surgical interventions performed: Group 1 included 98 eyes that had lensectomy. Group 2 included 89 eyes that had lensectomy and secondary intraocular lens implantation. Group 3 included 212 eyes that had lensectomy with primary intraocular implantation. The mean follow up time was 41.3 months. Finally, 23.1% group 1 patients, 42.1% group 2 patients, and 63.4% group 3 patients achieved visual acuity better than 20/60 (P=0.000). Upon analysis with multifactor regression, age at onset (P=0.011) was the only significant factor related to visual outcome. Complications such as after cataract and glaucoma occurred in 21.6% and 5.8% of all patients, respectively.
Conclusions:
Intraocular lens implantation for children with congenital or developing cataract is an effective treatment for visual rehabilitation, even for those patients age 2 years and younger.
