Congenital and Developmental Cataracts: Focus on Strabismus Outcomes at Long-Term Follow-Up.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the incidence of strabismus in congenital and developmental cataract surgery in patients with a follow-up longer than five years. METHODS: All patients with congenital and developmental cataracts observed from 1996 to 2013 with a follow-up longer than five years were retrospectively included. RESULTS: We included 117 patients (58 females and 59 males, mean age 0.62±0.3 years, 160 eyes) with congenital cataracts and 73 patients (32 females and 41 males, mean age 6.63±0.7 years, 121 eyes) with developmental cataracts. Before cataract surgery, strabismus was present in 88 patients with congenital cataracts (75.2%) and in 30 patients with developmental cataracts (41.1%) (p=0.01). After a follow-up of 9.26±1.3 years (range, 5-14 years), a significantly greater incidence of strabismus was observed after surgery only in patients with unilateral congenital cataracts who underwent cataract removal and primary IOL implantation (p=0.02). Distance BCVA and near BCVA were better after surgery for developmental cataracts (p<0.05). Presence of binocular vision was more frequent after surgery for developmental cataracts (p=0.001). CONCLUSION: Incidence of strabismus and postsurgical onset of strabismus at long-term follow-up was greater in patients with congenital cataracts.

Essential infantile esotropia with inferior oblique hyperfunction: long term follow-up of 6 muscles approach.

AIM: To evaluate long term follow-up (10y) of 6 muscle surgical approach in essential infantile esotropia (EIE). METHODS: A 6 muscle approach to EIE was retrospectively evaluated in patients with inferior oblique (IO) hyperfunction and lateral rectus (LR) pseudoparalysis, who underwent surgery at different ages. Different clinical characters were analyzed pre- and postoperatively, in patients who underwent a 6 muscles approach ≤4 years of age. All patients underwent a multiple muscles approach: bilateral medial recti (MR) recession (4-5 mm), bilateral LR resection (lower than 7 mm) and bilateral IO recession and anteroposition. Of 108 children with preoperative angle ≥+30 prism diopters (PD) and IO hyperfunction were selected from larger cohort of patients (n=213, 103 females and 110 males) after excluding patients with: angle variability, who underwent reoperation and with incomplete follow up. Preoperative assessment and complete orthoptic examination were performed. Follow-up was performed 3mo, 2, 5 and 10y after surgery. Statistical analysis was performes using SAS statistical software package (version 9.1, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA). RESULTS: Ten years follow up data analysis showed the following percentage of orthotropic patients: (0 PD): 3mo, 22.2%; 2y, 16.7%; 5y, 25.0% and 10y, 27.8%. A slight, significant (P<0.01), increase of 2y follow up residual deviation was found when compared to 3mo one. Stationary surgical results is reported during time, with a trend of mean residual deviation reduction (P=0.04). CONCLUSION: Our results confirm the reliability of multiple muscles surgical approach in the treatment of patients affected by EIE with OI hyperfunction.

Pediatric keratoconus and iontophoretic corneal crosslinking: refractive and topographic evidence in patients underwent general and topical anesthesia, 18 months of follow-up.

To evaluate the efficiency and safety of iontophoretic transepithelial corneal crosslinking in pediatric patients with progressive keratoconus underwent general or topical anesthesia in 18 months follow-up. 13 patients (13 eyes) diagnosed with progressive keratoconus underwent corneal CXL with iontophoresis (I-CXL). Riboflavin solution was administered by iontophoresis for 5 min, and then UV-A irradiation (10 mW/cm) was performed for 9 min. Preoperative and post-operative visits at 1, 6, 12, and 18 months assessed the following parameters: uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), slit-lamp biomicroscopy, corneal topography, optical tomography, and pachymetry with Pentacam (Oculus Optikgeräte GmbH, Wetzlar, Germany), endothelial biomicroscopy (Konan Specular Microscope; Konan Medical, Inc., Hyogo, Japan). The paired Student t test was used to compare data during the follow-up. 10 males and 3 females with a mean age of 15.4 ± 1.7 years (range 11-18 years) were included. The results showed a stabilization of the refractive UCVA and BCVA as early as the first post-operative month, with a slight improvement over time. The Kmax remained stable throughout follow-up (p = 0.04). Transepithelial collagen crosslinking by iontophoresis, unlike other transepithelial techniques seems to halt pediatric keratoconus progression over 18 months. This is the second study evaluating CXL with iontophoresis in pediatric patients with progressive keratoconus with 18 months of follow-up using two different ways of anesthesia.