Cataract in childhood: photograph methods in assessment

The slit-lamp examination of the child's lens with cataract can yield useful prognostic signs, especially when this is supplemented by slit-image photography and measurement. A normal lens size for the subject's age is a good prognostic sign and is usually associated with a static cataract or with very slow deterioration in a developmental cataract. A small lens and absence of the anterior subcapsular clear zone are each associated with progressive cataract. Nuclear lamellar cataracts are shown to become smaller in diameter with time, which favours medical treatment with mydriasis.