Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To establish if there is a significant difference in post-operative mean spherical equivalent (MSE) and best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) between silicone and PMMA intraocular lens implantation in paediatric cataract surgery. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 46 case notes of all paediatric cataracts performed between 1997 - 2002 in a city teaching hospital. 6 month post-operative BCVA in logMAR and refractive error were measured. All paediatric cataracts (46 patients, 64 eyes) were analysed including congenital, developmental and traumatic cataracts. MSE was calculated for all cataracts. Complication rates was also noted. Unpaired two-tailed student t test were used to test significance for MSE while Mann-Whitney U test was used to test significance for logMAR. Results: 34 eyes received a foldable silicone lens (Allergan SI40) while 30 received PMMA rigid lens. The MSE for the silicone lens was 0.15 and - 0.823 for the PMMA lens (p = 0.277). Mean logMAR for the silicone lens was 0.46, and 0.48 for PMMA lens (p = 0.947). The foldable lens was associated with a complication rate of 17% while the complication rate for surgery with a PMMA lens was 24%. Conclusions: There is no significant difference in post-operative refractive error and BCVA for silicone versus PMMA intraocular lenses in paediatric cataract surgery. Children may benefit from foldable silicone lenses due to reduced incision size.
Keywords: treatment outcomes of cataract surgery • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: out • cataract