Cataract surgery and intraocular lens implantation in patients with retinoblastoma

To report the visual outcome and complications after extracapsular cataract extraction with posterior chamber intraocular lens (IOL) implantation in eyes that underwent external beam radiotherapy for the treatment of retinoblastoma.

Eleven eyes of 8 patients aged 1.5 to 8.0 years at the time of surgery for irradiation-induced cataract were observed for 6 to 39 months (mean [+/-SD], 20+/-10 months). A standard technique of extracapsular cataract extraction, posterior chamber IOL implantation, pars plana posterior capsulotomy, and pars plana anterior vitrectomy was performed in 9 eyes, and secondary IOL placement was performed in 2 eyes.

All eyes that underwent primary IOL implantation achieved visual acuities equal to or better than those best ever recorded prior to the development of the cataract. There were no postoperative complications, and all eyes experienced minimal postoperative inflammation. The 2 eyes that underwent secondary IOL implantation achieved their best-corrected aphakic visual acuities but experienced a prolonged course of postoperative inflammation.

Intraocular lens placement in the posterior chamber of eyes with regressed retinoblastoma and irradiation-induced cataract seems to be a safe and effective method for the correction of aphakia.