BIOMETRY AND DEVELOPMENT OF REFRACTION FOR THEORETICAL IOL IMPLANTATION IN SMALL CHILDREN

Background: For various reasons the implantation of an intraocular len s in very young children remains a controversial matter. Although an i ntraocular lens might solve the problems of aniseiconia and amblyopia better then other forms of correction, the growth of the eyeball remai ns a major problem for constant refraction. Material and methods: Ther efore we theoretically analysed the biometric data from small children with regard to the development of refraction in 29 children (40 eyes) . Results: These theoretic calculations demonstrate, that with an aime d refraction of -2.0 diopters at the time of cataract-operation, refra ction at an age of 10 years varies from -2.75 diopters to -32.0 diopte rs (mean -11.75 diopters). The calculated aniseiconia at the age of 10 varies between 1 and 76% (mean 11%). In analysing these biometric dat a according to the age of the children at the time of surgery it is ev ident, that refraction at an age of 10 years would be more within a no rmal range if the age at the time of operation was certainly above 12 month of age. Conclusions: According to this theoretical analysis impl antation of an intraocular lens appears not to be meaningfull at an ag e of less than 12 months at the time of operation. If lens implantatio n in older children is considered the further growth of the eyeball sh ould be taken into account when calculating the power of an intraocula r lens.