Congenital Cataract Surgery: Our Four Years’ Experience in Prince Hamza Hospital (Amman-Jordan)

PURPOSE: The study has examined the problems encountered during management of cataract surgery during clinical practice within a developing country.

METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted by recruiting patients with the diagnosis of congenital cataract operated between 2011 and 2014. Intraocular lens was implanted, when the corneal diameter was 10 mm or more, which approximately corresponded to the capsular bag diameter, regardless of the patients’ age.

RESULTS: The results showed that 13 were aphakic and none of them developed visual axis opacification. Eleven out of the 49 pseudophakic patients needed 2 or more surgeries to clear visual axis opacification; whereas, 25 out of 49 pseudophakic patients received hydrophobic intraocular lens. However, 3 of them (12%) developed visual axis opacification. The remaining 24 patients received hydrophilic intraocular lens, where 8 of them (33%) developed visual axis opacification. There was increased incidence of visual axis opacification as a result of pseudophakia that required a second surgery, which delayed their visual rehabilitation.

CONCLUSION: Hydrophobic intraocular lenses are better used because of their lower risk to induce visual axis opacification.