Congenital cataracts - surgery and results

Abstract

A child’s eye differs from the eye of an adult by its anatomical and functional features. After birth, the visual system tends to develop until the age of 8 years, when it’s almost mature. Cataract surgery, especially in early childhood, should restore the transparency of the visual axis to ensure this development. A delay in the timing of intervention can disrupt the process of vision formation and cause deprivation amblyopia, which can be a determining factor affecting the final optical result of congenital cataract surgery. Professor Bobrova N.F. did more than 3000 surgeries in children of different ages (1 month - 18 years) with congenital cataracts of various clinical forms and manifestations and made observations of the results for more than 30 years. Together with her team, the professor developed a clinical and surgical classification. According to it, the whole variety of congenital cataracts can be classified into 3 groups - layered, total and atypical, each having distinctive features, is operated differently, at different times, and has variable visual prognosis.