Secondary intraocular lens implantation in children

Purpose
We describe a technique for secondary intraocular lens implantation in the ciliary sulcus in patients with congenital cataract or with primary aphakia.

Material and methods
Secondary intraocular lens implantation was performed in 119 eyes of 74 children. The average age at this procedure was 6.8 (range 22 months to 10 years), whereas the average age at primary cataract surgery was 18 weeks (range 7 weeks to 19 months). The average follow-up was 5.7 years. All eyes received a PMMA IOL. The sites of IOL fixation was ciliary sulcus. All patients had cataract extraction (lensectomy) via the pars plana, leaving in situ peripheral collarette of capsular bag to enable secondary lens implantation.

Results
Complications included IOL dislocation in five eyes, visual axis opacification in four, pupillary capture in one eye.

Conclusions
Secondary IOL implantation in the ciliary sulcus is a safe and effective method to correct aphakia in pediatric patients with adequate capsular support. This surgical procedure is associated with a low rate of complications.