Will my daughter get a secondary pediatric cataract?
AUG 17, 2015
Question:
My daughter is 4 months old. She had congenital cataract surgery when she was 5 weeks. Now she has been diagnosed with after-cataract which was formed on the cortex so she had a surgery and it was removed. I want to know if she is being diagnosed in the correct track. Also her ophthalmologist says we cannot fully remove it as IOL needs to be put in. Please let me know about the chances of this coming back.
Answer:
"Secondary cataracts" are a cloudiness in the "capsule" that was at the back of the original cataract, sort of like a "skin" that holds your natural lens in place. They very commonly become clouded after cataract surgery. It is very important that your surgeon create an opening in this cloudy capsule so that clear images can reach the retina and prevent the eye from becoming "lazy" (amblyopic).
Apparently you have been told that an intraocular lens is planned, and it is true that since portions of the capsule can support that implant and keep it in place, the cloudy capsule should not be completely removed, and making a central opening in the central capsule is the usual goal. Presumably this was done at the second surgery.
As far as her ultimate visual outcome, there are several variables in these cases, including the status of your daughter's other eye, the health of the other structures in both eyes, etc. While extremely rare, it is possible that certain cells may develop in the area of the posterior capsule, requiring additional laser treatment.