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Posterior capsule opacification occurs most often in children younger than 1 year
J Cataract Refract Surg. 2009;35(7):1216-1222.
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A 70.8% rate of posterior capsule opacification in children younger than 1 year who underwent cataract surgery was significantly higher than in children older than 7 years, who had a rate of 6.1%, a study found.
"Cataract surgery in children younger than 2 years should be considered a two-stage procedure in view of the higher incidence of [posterior capsule opacification]," the study authors said. "Further improvements in IOL design, surgical instrumentation and implantation techniques will continue to improve the ability to visually rehabilitate children."
They also found a significant decrease in secondary glaucoma in pseudophakic eyes following surgery performed after 30 days of age.
The retrospective review study looked at charts of 150 pseudophakic eyes of 110 consecutive patients aged 1 month to 18 years. Follow-up was 6 months to 12 years.
The researchers found that 22.7% of cases had posterior capsule opacification requiring secondary surgical membranectomy.