Serena X Wang
UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, USA
Title: Contact lenses in aphakic children
Biography
Biography: Serena X Wang
Abstract
Introduction: Primary intraocular lens (IOL) implantation in very young children undergoing cataract surgery is still controversial. Contact lens (CL) use is the mainstay treatment of aphakia in this age group. Aim of the study: The purpose of our study is to evaluate the safety and tolerance of CL use in aphakic pediatric patients. Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review of 88 patients≤ 2 years old undergoing cataract extraction without IOL implantation performed between 2009 and 2015 at Children’s Medical of Dallas. Results: Eighty-one patients qualified for the study. All had Silsoft CL placed in the postoperative period. Thirty- eight patients (76 eyes) underwent bilateral surgery while 42 patients had unilateral; 52% female and 48% male. The mean age at surgery was 3.54 mos±4.09mos (range 1-24mos). The time between surgeries in bilateral cases was 5.8 days±5.2 days (range 0-28 days). The mean changes in CL were 7.2± 6.5 (range 1-32). In all, 81 patients used 568 CL within the mean follow up period of 19.4 mos±14.5. The reasons for changes in CL were: lost CL (71.6%), change in power (18.3%), deposits (3.7%), and difficulty managing CL (6.3%). The rate of complications was low 0.08% (conjunctivitis, corneal edema, and corneal ulcer). Discussion: We note that the frequency of change in CL is mainly due to loss of contact lenses followed by change in power. The rate of CL related complication is low. Conclusion: Contact lenses are safe to use in aphakic children; however frequent loss of contact lenses is the most common problem, it may affect the effectiveness of the vision rehabilitation.