Congenital cataract surgery in children with cataract as an isolated defect and in children with a systemic syndrome: a comparative study.

Purpose: To compare visual acuity outcome in two groups of children who underwent congenital cataract surgery. The first group is one in which an isolated cataract occurred; the second group is one in which cataract occurred in conjunction with a systemic disease.

Methods: A review of 46 charts: 36 children (50 eyes) with congenital cataract as an isolated defect, and 10 children (16 eyes) with cataract as part of a systemic disease.

Results: One third of the eyes with isolated cataract had postoperative visual acuity better than 6/12, although none of the patients in the syndrome group had visual acuity better than 6/12. This difference was statistically significant (p = 0.01). Of the various ocular pathologies associated with congenital cataract, only nystagmus was found to be more prevalent in the syndrome group (40%) as compared with the isolated cataract group (11%) (p = 0.05). Surgery was performed during the first 2 years of life in 54% of the eyes in the isolated cataract group, and in 87% of the eyes in the syndrome group (p = 0.01). There was no difference in the prevalence of the postoperative complications between the two groups.

Conclusion: Children who underwent congenital cataract surgery developed poorer visual acuity if the cataract was a part of a systemic disease as compared with children without a systemic syndrome.