Pediatric cataract surgery and intraocular lens implantation: Current techniques, complications, and management

Management of cataract in children is different from that in adults because of increased intraoperative difficulties, propensity of postoperative inflammation, changing refractive state of the eye, difficulty in documenting anatomical and refractive changes due to poor compliance, and a tendency to develop amblyopia. Current practice for providing full-time correction of pediatric aphakia is shifting toward implantation of IOLs, owing to refined and perfected microsurgical techniques and to the availability, of suitable rigid and foldable implant designs. Main postoperative complications noted after pediatric cataract-IOL surgery include fibrinous uveitis, pupillary capture, aphakic glaucoma, pigment and cellular deposits on the implants, PCO or secondary membrane formation, and residual refractory error. These side effects may develop after many years. Therefore, it is crucial to follow up children closely on a long-term basis after pediatric cataract surgery and IOL implantation.