Cataract surgery in children with chronic uveitis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the visual outcome of cataract surgery in children's eyes with chronic uveitis and the feasibility of intraocular lens (IOL) implantation in these cases.

DESIGN: Retrospective noncomparative case series.

PARTICIPANTS: Seventeen children (20 eyes) with chronic uveitis, dense cataract, and a preoperative visual acuity of 6/120 or less with follow-up of 5 years after the initial cataract surgery.

METHODS: In 10 eyes of 10 children (five with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis [JRA] and five with non-JRA-associated uveitis) with uniocular or markedly unequal binocular disease, surgery was carried out through the limbus and a posterior chamber IOL was implanted. In seven children (10 eyes), three with JRA and four with non-JRA-associated disease, a pars plana approach was used, and contact lenses or glasses (for the bilateral cases) were prescribed.

RESULTS: The postoperative course and immediate restored visual acuities were similar whether an IOL was implanted or not. One month after the surgery, visual acuity improved in all operated eyes. After monocular surgery, in the younger children, contact lenses were poorly tolerated and their use discontinued. These aphakic eyes remained with low vision, developing strabismus on longer follow-up. Children with JRA-associated uveitis were younger, demonstrated an active intraocular inflammation for an extended period after surgery, and tended to have secondary membranes develop, necessitating a second surgical intervention. Five years after the initial surgery, only two of nine eyes (22%) in the JRA group (one aphakic of a bilaterally affected child and one pseudophakic in a child undergoing cataract surgery in one eye) retained a visual acuity of 6/9 and 6/6, respectively. In the other seven eyes, the visual acuity was 6/60 in one pseudophakic eye and 6/240 or less in six eyes (three aphakic and three pseudophakic). In children with non-JRA-associated uveitis, 6 (four aphakic in two patients bilaterally affected and two pseudophakic) of 11 eyes (54.5%) retained a vision of 6/12 or better.

CONCLUSIONS: Cataract surgery in children's eyes with uveitis may be beneficial. IOL implantation seems preferable to correction with contact lenses in young children needing surgery in one eye. In children with JRA-associated uveitis, the final visual results remain guarded because of irreversible amblyopia and a more complicated postoperative course. For these cases, a modified management approach and a better surgical technique are needed.