Ten-year refractive and visual outcomes of intraocular lens implantation in infants with congenital cataract.

INTRODUCTION: There is no consensus regarding optimal target refraction after intraocular lens implantation in infants. This study aimed to clarify relationships of initial postoperative refraction with long-term refractive and visual outcomes. METHODS: This retrospective review included 14 infants (22 eyes) who underwent unilateral or bilateral cataract extraction and primary intraocular lens implantation before the age of 1 year. All infants had ≥10 years of follow-up. RESULTS: All eyes exhibited myopic shift over a mean follow-up period of 15.9 ± 2.8 years. The greatest myopic shift occurred in the first postoperative year (mean=-5.39 ± +3.50 dioptres [D]), but smaller amounts continued beyond the tenth year (mean=-2.64 ± +2.02 D between 10 years postoperatively and last follow-up). Total myopic shift at 10 years ranged from -21.88 to -3.75 D (mean=-11.62 ± +5.14 D). Younger age at operation was correlated with larger myopic shifts at 1 year (P=0.025) and 10 years (P=0.006) postoperatively. Immediate postoperative refraction was a predictor of spherical equivalent refraction at 1 year (P=0.015) but not at 10 years (P=0.116). Immediate postoperative refraction was negatively correlated with final best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) (P=0.018). Immediate postoperative refraction of ≥+7.00 D was correlated with worse final BCVA (P=0.029). CONCLUSION: Considerable variation in myopic shift hinders the prediction of long-term refractive outcomes in individual patients. When selecting target refraction in infants, low to moderate hyperopia (<+7.00 D) should be considered to balance the avoidance of high myopia in adulthood with the risk of worse long-term visual acuity related to high postoperative hyperopia.

Botulinum toxin as an initial therapy for management of sixth nerve palsies caused by nasopharyngeal carcinomas.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of botulinum toxin injection as a primary treatment for strabismus in a cohort of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC)-related chronic sixth nerve palsy.Patients and methodsWe retrospectively reviewed all cases of NPC-related sixth nerve palsy receiving botulinum toxin injection in the Hong Kong Eye Hospital between January 2009 and January 2016. Only cases with diplopia for at least 6 months; and failed a trial of Fresnel prism therapy were recruited. We excluded cases with prior strabismus surgery and multiple cranial nerve palsies. Patients were offered botulinum toxin injection as primary treatment for their strabismus and were given further injections or offered surgery if diplopia persisted. Success with botulinum toxin was defined as a final distant orthophoria of <15 PD in primary gaze, no diplopia in primary position, and no head turn, as measured 6 months after the last injection, without requiring a second treatment.ResultsA total of 25 patients were included in the study. All patients received concurrent chemo-radiotherapy for NPC. There was a statistically significant reduction in the mean deviation at distant after the last injection compared to that at presentation (P<0.001, Wilcoxin signed rank test). Overall, 7 patients (28%) achieved clinical success and 15 patients (64%) remained diplopia-free by repeated botulinum toxin injections alone. Nine patients went on to receive definitive surgery and all achieved good ocular alignment after surgery. Transient ptosis or vertical deviation was seen in 7 patients, which resolved within 3 months and no serious complications arose from the treatment in our series.ConclusionsBotulinum toxin injection is a relatively less-invasive alternative to surgery that can be done under a topical anesthesia setting, which improves patient's quality of life via reduction in diplopia. It is a recommendable initial option in patients with chronic nerve palsies who may have higher risks associated with strabismus surgery.