The visual outcomes of traumatic cataract aspiration with IOL implantation in children

Objective: to evaluate the visual outcomes of traumatic cataract aspiration with intraocular lens implantation in children. methods: thirty children with unilateral traumatic cataract aged from 3-12 underwent traumatic cataract aspiration and intraocular lens (iol) implantation surgery. there were 21 male cases (70%) and 9 female cases (30%). these patients underwent surgery between november 2009 to march 2011. the cases were prospected and evaluated. this study was conducted at a private hospital,saira miraj memorial hospital begum kot lahore pakistan. results: visual acuity improved from perception of light pre-operatively to 6/24 to 6/18 in 16 cases,6/12 to 6/9 in 4 cases and 6/6 in 2 cases. perception of light in two cases hand movement in two cases,counting fingers in one case,6/60 to 6/36 in 3 cases. overall the vision improved in 82.97% of the cases postoperatively. the poor visual outcome in rest of the patients was due to postoperative complication which included uveitis in 3 cases,hypema in 1,pupillary capture in 2 upward drawn pupil in three cases and posterior capsular opacification (pco) was seen in 9 patients after a long follow up. conclusion: unilateral traumatic cataract treated with lens aspiration and posterior chamber iol implantation followed by anterior vitrectomy shows good results and the patient should be advised to visit the eye clinic regularly for better outcomes of postoperative complications.