Outcomes of sutureless and sutured scleral fixated intraocular lens in paediatric population.

PURPOSE: To analyse the outcomes of sutureless and sutured scleral fixated intraocular lenses (SFIOL) in paediatric population.

SETTING: Vitreoretina department of a tertiary eye care institute in Southern India.

DESIGN: Retrospective case series.

METHODS: Data were collected from January 2010 to December 2018 for children less than 18 years of age, based on the following parameters: demographics, pre-operative characteristics, duration between aphakia and surgery, previous amblyopia treatment, the uncorrected (UCVA) and the best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) at baseline and, 1,6 and 12 months or final visit. Early and late post-operative complications along with details of any resurgery was recorded.

RESULTS: The study included 45 eyes of 43 patients. The mean age when children became aphakic was 8.8±3.6 years and the mean age at SFIOL implantation 10.1 ± 3.9 years. Sutureless SFIOL was performed for 36 (80%) eyes. The improvement in UCVA was statistically significant at 1-month follow up. Transient hypotony (n = 3), vitreous hemorrhage ( n  = 7) and raised IOP ( n  = 4) were the most observed early post-operative complications, while haptic exposure or disinsertion ( n  = 4, 9%) was a delayed postoperative complication. The mean spherical equivalent at the last follow up was 1.96 ± 0.83D and mean postoperative cylinder 2.32 ± 1.3D. The children were followed up for a mean duration of 20 ± 21.7 months. History of previous vitrectomy was found to be associated with two line reduction in UCVA (95% CI = 0.03-0.5 logMAR, p  = 0.008).

CONCLUSION: SFIOLs- sutured and sutureless; both were suitable for the rehabilitation of paediatric aphakia. Sutureless scleral fixation is a safe alternative for children but prospective studies with longer follow-up are needed.