Comparison Of Different Surgical Techniques For The Management Of Congenital Cataract: Long-Term Results
Published 2025 - 43rd Congress of the ESCRS
Reference: FP20.09 | Type: Free paper | DOI: 10.82333/2jp9-1g51
Authors: Matteo Airaldi* 1 , Filippo Airaldi 2 , Zhuangzhi Gao 3 , Alessandro Ruzza 4 , Mohit Parekh 5 , Diego Ponzin 4 , Stephen Kaye 3 , Francesco Semeraro 6 , Stefano Ferrari 4 , Yalin Zheng 3 , Vito Romano 6
1Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine,University of Brescia,Brescia,Italy, 2Delft Center for Systems and Control,Delft University of Technology,Delft,Netherlands, 3Department of Eye and Vision Sciences,University of Liverpool,Liverpool,United Kingdom, 4Fondazione Banca degli Occhi del Veneto,Venezia,Italy, 5Schepens Eye Research Institute of Massachusetts Eye and Ear,Boston,United States, 6Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties, Radiological Sciences, and Public Health,University of Brescia,Brescia,Italy
Purpose
The aim of this study was to evaluate the results of four different surgical techniques used in cataract surgery in terms of postoperative refraction values, posterior capsule opacification (PCO), refractive errors and complications.
Setting
Beyoglu Eye Training and Research Hospital
Methods
Patients who underwent congenital cataract extraction and intraocular lens (IOL) implantation between January 2016 and January 2025 were included in this single-centre, retrospective study. Patients were grouped according to the surgical technique used as Group 1: posterior continuous curvilinear capsulorrhexis (PCCC), Group 2: PCCC with anterior vitrectomy (AV), Group 3: PCCC with posterior optical capture (POC), Group 4: PCCC with both AV and POC. Demographics, pre- and post-operative refractive errors, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA,Snellen), complications and PCO rates were evaluated in patients who had at least 5 years of follow-up. Exclusion criteria included traumatic cataract, irregular follow-up and no IOL implantation.
Results
A total of 82 eyes from 50 patients (16 female, 34 male) were included. The mean age at surgery was 5.4±3.0 years (2–14), with a mean follow-up of 83.9±13.2 months.The most performed technique was PCCC (28 eyes, 34.1%),followed by PCCC+AV (25 eyes, 30.5%), PCCC+POC (22 eyes, 26.8%), and PCCC+AV+POC (7 eyes, 8.5%). At the 5th year, the mean BCVA was 0.74±0.22 and showed a significant improvement compared to the initial BCVA (p=0.001) with no difference between techniques (p>0.05). PCO developed in 25 eyes (30.5%), highest in Group 1 (19 eyes, 76%), followed by Group 3 (4 eyes, 16%) and Group 2 (2 eyes, 8%), with none in Group 4. PCO rates differed significantly among techniques (p=0.001).
Conclusions
These results suggest that while all techniques improve visual acuity, incorporating AV and POC may lower PCO risk and enhance long-term surgical outcomes in congenital cataract cases.