Posters

Paediatric cataract, the experience of a tertiary center in Greece

Poster Details

First Author: K.Tsakiris GREECE

Co Author(s):    G. Bimpasi   S. Azaris   A. Kouri        

Abstract Details

Purpose:

Our department is one of the three tertiary pediatric ophthalmology clinics in Athens, with an area of responsibility which includes southern Greece and the Aegean islands. The aim of this review is to present and evaluate our experience as a pediatric cataract referral center during the last three years.

Setting:

Athens General Children's Hospital 'Panagiotis & Aglaia Kyriakou', Department of Ophthalmology

Methods:

We operated on 59 eyes of 45 patients (22 boys and 23 girls) in the time frame ranging from December 2011 until December 2014. The age range was from 45 days to 14 years old. We divided our patients into three age groups. The first group included 16 children from 0-2 years of age, the second one eight (8) children up to the age of six and the third one 21 children from six to fourteen years of age.

Results:

Thirtyone (31) patients had congenital cataract and fourteen (14) traumatic. In 32 cases the cataracts were unilateral and in 13 bilateral. The surgical method used was aspiration of the lens, combined with anterior vitrectomy in twenty four patients. An Intraocular lens was implanted in all but three eyes, (two traumatic and one congenital cataract) which were left aphakic. The most common comorbidities associated with childhood cataract were strabismus, observed in 11 children, amblyopia in 20 and nystagmus in two.Additional surgery to remove secondary lens matter was needed in 15 patients and Nd:YAG laser posterior capsulotomy was performed in seven.

Conclusions:

It is interesting to note that a large number of our cases was operated quite old, due to probably late referral. In conclusion pediatric cataract is a technically challenging operation with a very high probability of additional surgery, particularly in the younger patients. The large number of children with cataracts operated in older age reflects a weakness in our primary care system. FINANCIAL DISCLOUSRE: NONE