PAEDIATRIC (CHILDREN) CATARACT SURGERY:
A cataract is a clouding of the lens in the middle of the eye. Infant cataracts are usually caused by a malformation of the lens during early intra-uterine life, and are hereditary in about 20% of cases. Cataracts in older children can occur as the result of a less severe malformation or following eye trauma. Vision will range from slightly to severely impaired. Severe cataracts occurring near the time of birth must be removed within weeks or vision can fail to develop normally and the eye will become legally blind (the medical term is amblyopia). Thousands of children are born in India with Congenital Cataracts . Often due to lack of awareness, this disease continues across generations. We have a number of instances of having operated congenital cataracts in three generations in the same family.
Problems Related to Cataracts:
Pediatric cataracts can also cause eye wiggling (nystagmus) or amblyopia (lazy vision). Amblyopia may persist despite cataract removal if the amblyopia doesnot respond to patching after surgery. In many children, this can also lead to eye crossing (strabismus) before or after cataract surgery. The crossing can usually be fully or partially corrected by eye muscle surgery. Glaucoma (high eye pressure) may develop months or years after cataract removal. This is not caused by the cataract surgery, but by a malformation of the drainage channels in that eye. About one in five children who have cataract surgery will later require treatment for glaucoma. Eye pressure should be checked periodically throughout life.
