Skip to main content
Log in

Clinical characteristics of congenital and developmental cataract undergoing surgical treatment

  • Clinical Investigation
  • Published:
Japanese Journal of Ophthalmology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

To analyze the clinical characteristics of congenital/developmental cataract undergoing surgery.

Methods

A mail questionnaire was sent to 49 facilities engaged in surgical treatment of congenital cataracts, and data on preoperative clinical features were collected.

Results

Twenty nine facilities reported on 864 eyes of 521 patients with congenital/infantile cataract, ranging in age at initial visit from 0 to 18.8 years (2.6 ± 3.3 years, mean ± standard deviation). Among the patients, 65.8 % had bilateral cataracts and 34.2 % were unilaterally affected. Family history was found for 22.4 % of cases, of which 98.1 % were bilateral. Family history was positive for 33.1 % of bilateral and 1.3 % of unilateral cases. The most common main complaint was white pupil for 35.7 % of bilateral cases and 32.7 % for unilateral cases. Concomitant systemic abnormalities were more frequently associated with bilateral cases (31.6 %) than with unilateral cases (16.7 %). Associated ocular diseases, such as strabismus, persistent fetal vasculature, and posterior lenticonus, were more frequently seen among unilateral cases whereas nystagmus was more common among bilateral cases.

Conclusions

Among congenital/developmental cataracts, the ratio of bilateral and unilateral cases was approximately 2:1. Almost all patients with a family history of congenital cataract were bilateral. Initial visits to a physician were rather late, 2.6 years from birth; this should be improved.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Taylor D. Congenital cataract: the history, the nature and the practice: the Doyne Lecture. Eye. 1998;12:9–36.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Gilbert C, Foster A. Childhood blindness in the context of VISION 2020–the right to sight. Bull World Health Organ. 2001;79:227–32.

    PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Thylefors B. A global initiative for the elimination of avoidable blindness. Commun Eye Health. 1998;11:1–3.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Zetterström C, Lundvall A, Kugelberg M. Cataracts in children. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2005;31:824–40.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Lambert SR, Drack AV. Infantile cataracts. Surv Ophthalmol. 1996;40:427–58.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Hiles DA, Carter BT. Classification of cataracts in children. Int Ophthalmol Clin. 1977;17:15–29.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Hiles DA. Infantile cataracts. Pediatr Ann. 1983;12:556–73.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Birch EE, Stager DR. The critical period for surgical treatment of dense congenital unilateral cataract. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1996;37:1532–8.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Gelbart SS, Hoyt CS, Jastrebski G, Marg E. Long-term visual results in bilateral congenital cataracts. Am J Ophthalmol. 1982;93:615–21.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Lambert SR, Lynn MJ, Reeves R, Plager DA, Buckley EG, Wilson ME. Is there a latent period for the surgical treatment of children with dense bilateral congenital cataracts? J AAPOS. 2006;10:30–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Birch EE, Cheng C, Stager DR Jr, Weakley DR Jr, Stager DR Sr. The critical period for surgical treatment of dense congenital bilateral cataracts. J AAPOS. 2009;13:67–71.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Rahi JS, Dezateux C. british congenital cataract interest group. congenital and infantile cataract in the United Kingdom: underlying or associated factors. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2000;41:2108–14.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Haargaard B, Wohlfahrt J, Fledelius HC, Rosenberg T, Melbye M. A nationwide Danish study of 1027 cases of congenital/infantile cataracts: etiological and clinical classifications. Ophthalmology. 2004;111:2292–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Wirth MG, Russell-Eggitt IM, Craig JE, Elder JE, Mackey DA. Aetiology of congenital and paediatric cataract in an Australian population. Br J Ophthalmol. 2002;86:782–6.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Eckstein M, Vijayalakshmi P, Killedar M, Gilbert C, Foster A. Aetiology of childhood cataract in south India. Br J Ophthalmol. 1996;80:628–32.

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Jain IS, Pillay P, Gangwar DN, Dhir SP, Kaul VK. Congenital cataract: etiology and morphology. J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. 1983;20:238–42.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. SanGiovanni JP, Chew EY, Reed GF, Remaley NA, Bateman JB, Sugimoto TA, et al. Infantile cataract in the collaborative perinatal project: prevalence and risk factors. Arch Ophthalmol. 2002;120:1559–65.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Deweese MW. A survey of the surgical treatment of congenital cataracts. Am J Ophthalmol. 1962;53:853–8.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Yang ML, Hou CH, Lee JS, Liang YS, Kao LY, Lin KK. Clinical characteristics and surgical outcomes of pediatric cataract in Taiwan. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2006;244:1485–90.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Kim KH, Ahn K, Chung ES, Chung TY. Clinical outcomes of surgical techniques in congenital cataracts. Korean J Ophthalmol. 2008;22:87–91.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Ledoux DM, Trivedi RH, Wilson ME Jr, Payne JF. Pediatric cataract extraction with intraocular lens implantation: visual acuity outcome when measured at age 4 years and older. J AAPOS. 2007;11:218–24.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Plager DA, Kipfer H, Sprunger DT, Sondhi N, Neely DE. Refractive change in pediatric pseudophakia: 6-year follow-up. J Cataract Refract Surg. 2002;28:810–5.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Supported by the Health and Labour Sciences Research Grant, Research on Measures for Intractable Diseases, The Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare, Japan. We thank all physicians who contributed to this study by providing valuable information, those from National Center for Child Health and Development, Hyogo Prefectural Kobe Children’s Hospital, Aichi Children’s Health and Medical Center, Osaka City General Hospital, Kyorin University School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Osaka Medical Center and Research Institute for Maternal and Child Health, Iwate Medical University, University of Tsukuba Faculty of Medicine, Dokkyo Medical University, Kagoshima University Faculty of Medicine, Kanagawa Children’s Medical Center, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Osaka University Medical School, Keio University School of Medicine, Kurume University School of Medicine, Wakayama Medical University, Kagawa University Faculty of Medicine, Kanazawa University School of Medicine, University of Fukui Faculty of Medical Science, Shiga University of Medical Science, Ehime University School of Medicine, Toho University Omori Medical Center, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Kyushu University School of Medicine, Kobe University School of Medicine, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Hokkaido Children’s Hospital and Medical Center, and Kagawa National Children’s Hospital.

Conflicts of interest

T. Nagamoto, None; T. Oshika, None; T. Fujikado, None; T. Ishibashi, None; M. Sato, None; M. Kondo, None; D. Kurosaka, None; N. Azuma, None.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tetsuro Oshika.

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Nagamoto, T., Oshika, T., Fujikado, T. et al. Clinical characteristics of congenital and developmental cataract undergoing surgical treatment. Jpn J Ophthalmol 59, 148–156 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10384-015-0370-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10384-015-0370-8

Keywords

Navigation