Bilateral paediatric cataract surgery in the same session

To evaluate the results of bilateral paediatric cataract surgery in the same session with a focus on patient selection criteria, operative guidelines, and controversial issues.

Departments of Ophthalmology, Inönü University Turgut Ozal Medical Center (Malatya) and Fatih University Hospital (Ankara, Turkey).

This retrospective noncomparative case series comprised 39 children (78 eyes), who underwent bilateral cataract surgery and/or primary or secondary IOL implantation in one sitting. Ten patients had bilateral lensectomy-primary posterior capsulotomy-anterior vitrectomy, and the remaining 29 patients had bilateral IOL implantation either primarily (20 cases) at the time of cataract extraction or secondarily for aphakic correction (9 cases). Both eyes were treated as two separate but consecutive surgeries in the same session. Maximum possible care was taken to ensure surgical asepsis.

Age at surgery ranged from 2 months to 17 years. Average follow-up was 12 months. No serious intraoperative or postoperative complications occurred leading to permanent vision loss. During the last follow-up, 91% of eyes tested had a visual acuity of 20/40 or better.

Bilateral paediatric cataract surgery in one session may be a safe and useful approach alternative to sequential surgery in selected patients, if operative guidelines and surgical asepsis are strictly followed.