Complications after early surgery for congenital cataracts

Purpose: To study the type and frequency of complications requiring additio nal surgery in infants operated on for congenital cataract before 12 months of age. Methods: The medical records of 57 infants who underwent surgery for unilat eral and bilateral congenital cataracts during a five-year-period were revi ewed retrospectively. The follow-up period ranged from 9 to 70 months with a mean of 37 months. Cataract extraction was performed on 83 eyes. Results: Thirty-eight operations for after-cataracts were performed on 32 o ut of 83 eyes. Fourteen vitrectomies were made on 11 eyes because of pupill ary block glaucoma. Glaucoma requiring trabeculectomy developed in eight ey es 2 to 14 months after cataract extraction. This type of glaucoma occurred almost exclusively in eyes operated on during the first two months of life . Conclusion: Complications requiring additional surgery are very common in i nfants operated on for congenital cataracts during the first year of life. Glaucoma requiring trabeculectomy developed particularly in infants who had their cataract extraction very early. Glaucoma development was not more co mmon in infants operated on for after-cataract.