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Astigmatism often resolved after congenital cataract removal, study finds
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Pediatric patients who undergo congenital cataract removal may experience a postoperative decline in astigmatism by 5 months postop, according to a study in Israel.
Abraham Spierer, MD, and Shai M. Bar-Sela, MD, at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel-Hashomer reviewed the charts of all children who underwent cataract surgery for nontraumatic cataract between 1992 and 2001. They identified 32 eyes of 28 patients with astigmatism of at least 3 D at 1 week postoperative. The children ranged in age from 2 months to 11 years.
Cataract surgery was performed using a limbal, scleral tunnel or clear corneal incision.
Mean astigmatism at 1 week postop was 5.8 D in the limbal incision group; 5.1 D in the scleral tunnel group and 4 D in the clear corneal incision group. The astigmatism underwent spontaneous declines in all groups by 5 months postop. The difference was statistically significant.
The study is published in the May issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.