Refractive and visual outcome of paediatric cataract surgery in the Ukraine

Abstract

PURPOSE: To describe the refractive and visual outcomes after surgery for congenital or developmental cataract in the Ukraine. METHODS: Cataract surgery was performed in 65 children aged 3-15 years. The cataracts were bilateral in 44 children and unilateral in 21. Examinations, including visual acuity (VA) and objective refraction using retinoscopy, were performed preoperatively and at 1 day, 6 months and 2 years postoperatively. Neither occlusion therapy nor spectacles were prescribed. RESULTS: Almost all children (96%) gained in VA. In all, 40% of the bilateral cases achieved a corrected Snellen VA > or = 0.5 and 44% of the unilateral cases obtained a corrected VA > or = 0.2. The difference between VA (logMAR) preoperatively and 2 years postoperatively was statistically significant (p < 0.05). The bilateral cases showed a postoperative reduction in mean astigmatism from 3.9 D (1 day postoperatively) to 0.6 D (2 years postoperatively) (p < 0.001), while the unilateral cases showed a reduction from 4.2 D (1 day postoperatively) to 0.4 D (2 years postoperatively) (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Good postoperative VA was achieved in the group with bilateral cataract. Surprisingly, even in the group with unilateral cataract, an increase in VA was obtained, despite the lack of postoperative correction with glasses or occlusion therapy.