A. Kampik et al., BIOMETRY AND DEVELOPMENT OF REFRACTION FOR THEORETICAL IOL IMPLANTATION IN SMALL CHILDREN, Klinische Monatsblatter fur Augenheilkunde, 202(4), 1993, pp. 315-319
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.