VISUAL-ACUITY FOLLOWING TREATMENT OF BILATERAL CONGENITAL CATARACTS

Several studies have indicated that operation during the first months of life in children with dense congenital cataract improves the final visual acuity. In the current study seven otherwise healthy children o perated on before the age of fifty-six days are compared with seven ch ildren operated on after the age of three months. The patients were fo llowed by a team consisting of a paediatric ophthalmologist, a contact lens optician and an orthoptist. They were treated with contact lense s, spectacles with near addition and occlusion therapy when needed. Vi sual acuity was initially tested with preferential looking technique a nd later with Snellen optotypes. In the early treated group the visual development was almost normal with a final visual acuity of 20/20, wh ile in the late treated group no patient obtained better visual acuity than 20/100. The findings indicate that dense congenital cataract sho uld be treated before the age of three months.