Risk of visual axis opacification in infants with and without primary IOL implantation after congenital cataract surgery performed during the first 4 months of age.

PURPOSE: The study evaluates the rate of postoperative formation of a pupillary membrane (PM) and posterior visual axis opacification (PVAO) in infants with and without primary IOL implantation during the first 4 months of infancy. METHODS: Medical records for 144 eyes (101 infants) operated between 2005 and 2014 were evaluated. A posterior capsulectomy and anterior vitrectomy were performed. Primary IOL implantation was performed in 68 eyes, while 76 eyes were left aphakic. There were 16 bilateral cases in the pseudophakic group and 27 in the aphakic group. The follow-up period was 54.3 ± 21.05 months and 49.1 ± 18.60 months, respectively. Fisher's exact test was used for statistical analysis. The two-sample t-test with equal variance was used to compare surgery age, follow-up period and time intervals of complications. RESULTS: The mean age of surgery was 2.1 ± 0.85 months in the pseudophakic and 2.2 ± 1.01 months in the aphakic group. PM was diagnosed in 40% pseudophakic and 7% aphakic eyes. A second surgery for PVAO was performed in 72% pseudophakic and 16% aphakic eyes. Both were significantly higher in the pseudophakic group. In the pseudophakic group, the number of PVAO was significantly higher in infants operated before 8 weeks of age compared to surgery age 9-16 weeks. The frequency of PM was not age-dependent. CONCLUSION: Although it remains feasible to implant an IOL during the primary surgery, even in very young infants, there should always be solid arguments for this decision since it puts the child at higher risk of repeated surgeries under general anaesthesia.

Comparison of toric intraocular lens tilt and decentration measurement using dynamic Purkinje-meter and anterior segment optical coherence tomography.

AIMS: To present a new method of dynamic Purkinje-metry and to verify it by comparison with a commercially available anterior segment optical coherence tomography CASIA2. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A dynamic Purkinje-meter with a movable fixation target was assembled. A coaxial circular pattern formed by infrared LEDs was projected onto the eye and evoked Purkinje images (1st, 3rd, 4th = P1, P3, P4). The measurement was performed on 29 eyes with an implanted toric IOL (intraocular lens), under mydriatic conditions, with reference to the visual axis. The IOL tilt was calculated from the position of a fixation target at the moment of P3 and P4 superposition. The IOL decentration was determined based on the relative position of P1 during on-axis fixation and of P3 and P4 superposition during off-axis fixation. A custom-developed software was used for distance measurements. Using CASIA2, the IOL position was fully calculated by the device. RESULTS: The mean absolute difference between CASIA2 and Purkinje-meter values was 0.6° ± 0.4° for the tilt magnitude and 10° ± 10° for the tilt direction, and 0.11 mm ± 0.08 mm for the decentration magnitude and 16° ± 14° for the decentration direction. There was no statistically significant difference between the values determined by the two methods for the tilt and decentration direction. The differences were statistically significant for the tilt and decentration magnitude. CONCLUSION: The values of IOL tilt and decentration direction are similar for both devices. The values of IOL tilt and decentration magnitude measured by Purkinje-meter are higher than those from CASIA2, but overall, they correspond to the values presented in other published studies.

Seasonal Variations in Ocular Axial Length Increase among Children in the Czech Republic.

In recent decades, the prevalence of myopia has increased worldwide as well as in European countries, and it has become an important medical and socioeconomic problem. Our prospective single-center study analysed the changes in ocular axial length (AXL) in a population of Central European schoolchildren from 2016 to 2019. The study included 528 eyes of 264 children with a mean age of 12.2 years at the beginning of the study. Visual acuity, ocular AXL, anterior chamber depth, and the questionnaire were examined at 6-month intervals (in spring and autumn, following the winter and summer periods, respectively). The average ocular AXL was 23.329 mm (median: 23.315 mm) at the beginning of the study and 23.525 mm (median: 23.505 mm) at the end of the study. The change in ocular AXL per month was significantly higher (p < 0.0001) during the winter period (average: 0.013 mm, median: 0.011 mm) than during the summer period (average: -0.001 mm, median: 0.000 mm). We observed a significantly higher increase in ocular AXL in a Caucasian population during the winter period (with lower daylight exposure) than the summer period.

Loop-on-suture-guided insertion for easier capsular tension ring insertion and residual cortex removal.

The capsular tension ring (CTR) is a useful aid in cataract surgery involving zonular impairment. In standard implantation with tweezers or injectors, there is limited control of the leading eyelet, and this can cause excessive stress on the zonular fibers and lead to damage of the capsular bag. Several techniques have been investigated with the aim of reducing these risks. In this study, a simple new modification of the suture-guided CTR technique is described. Adding a loop to the suture can facilitate manipulation during implantation and removal of cortex residues at the end of cataract extraction.

Intraoperative Optical Coherence Tomography Analysis of Clear Corneal Incision: Effect of the Lateral Stromal Hydration.

METHODS: The cohort included 65 clear corneal incisions of 49 patients who underwent cataract surgery. Corneal incisions were recorded using a Leica Proveo 8 microscope with an intraoperative OCT EnFocus™ device continuously during the surgery. Corneal incision morphology before and after lateral stromal hydration was analysed. RESULTS: Good adaptation of the corneal incision before hydration was present in 39 cases (60%), in 16 cases (24.6%), the prominence of posterior lip was present, and, in 10 cases (15.4%), the posterior lip tongue was inverted/retracted into the incision. In 38 cases (58.5%), hydration had no effect on the incision architecture; most often, it was primarily a well-adapted corneal incision (46.2%), less often an incision with posterior lip prominence (10.8%), or tongue inversion into the incision (1.6%) prior to hydration. Hydration worsened the incision architecture in 14 cases (21.5%); most often, it induced/worsened posterior lip prominence (15.4%), less often posterior lip retraction (1.6%), tongue inversion into the incision (1.6%), gap development in the peripheral part of the corneal incision (1.6%), or incomplete opening of the corneal incision (1.6%). In 13 cases (20%), hydration improved the incision architecture, especially in cases with inverted or retracted posterior lip tongue (12.3%), less often in cases with posterior lip prominence (7.7%). CONCLUSION: Lateral stromal hydration seldom affects the condition of the corneal incision. Still, it can cause both deterioration and improvement of the corneal incision architecture. Intraoperative OCT provides real-time monitoring of corneal incision morphology during hydration procedure.

Early detection of recurrent primary iris stromal cyst using ultrasound biomicroscopy.

Primary iris stromal cyst characteristically presents as a smooth, round, translucent mass in the anterior chamber. In small children it tends to grow rapidly and may be confused with intraocular malignancy. Management is difficult, and recurrences are frequent. We report 2 cases of primary iris stromal cyst in which recurrence was detected relatively early using ultrasound biomicroscopy and successfully managed with iridectomy.

Corneal changes assessed using confocal microscopy in patients with unilateral buphthalmos.

PURPOSE: To compare corneal structures in buphthalmic eyes and healthy eyes in patients with unilateral congenital glaucoma using a corneal confocal microscope. METHODS: Ten patients with unilateral buphthalmos (mean ± SD age, 14.85 ± 5.12 years) were examined using corneal confocal microscopy. The cell density and cell area of endothelial cells and superficial and basal epithelial cells and the number of keratocytes were evaluated. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between the cell density of superficial epithelial cells in buphthalmic eyes relative to healthy eyes (P = 0.1944). The cell density of basal epithelial cells was significantly higher (P = 0.0234) and the cell area was significantly smaller (P = 0.0181) in buphthalmic eyes relative to healthy eyes. There was no difference between the number of keratocytes in buphthalmic eyes and healthy eyes in the anterior stroma (P = 0.273) or in the posterior stroma (P = 0.0799). The cell density of endothelial cells was significantly lower and the cell area was significantly larger in buphthalmic eyes relative to healthy eyes (P = 0.0009). CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated a lower cell density of endothelial cells in buphthalmic eyes. We found no differences in keratocyte density between the buphthalmic eyes and healthy eyes. The cell density of basal epithelial cells was higher in buphthalmic eyes. These differences could be due to buphthalmos or due to the previous surgical and medical therapies. Monitoring of these changes could help to contribute to accurate assessments regarding future ocular surgical procedures.