Surgical treatment, clinical outcomes, and complications of traumatic cataract: retrospective study.

AIM: To analyze clinical outcomes and complications after traumatic cataract extractions because of post-traumatic lens opacification.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective analysis of 24 eyes with traumatic cataract surgically treated between May 2000 and June 2003. Preoperative visual acuity, postoperative best corrected visual acuity, and preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative complications were analyzed for all eyes.

RESULTS

Most patients were young men, with preoperative visual acuity of 0.05-0.1, who underwent surgery between one and six months after the trauma. We found corneal scar in 5 eyes, rupture of the anterior capsule in 4 eyes, sphincter damage in 2 eyes, anterior synechiae in 3 eyes, iridodialysis in one eye, zonullar loss in one eye, and macular scar in one eye. Mild or moderate postoperative complications occurred in 9 out of 24 cases. Visual acuity improved in 17 eyes. Seven out of 24 patients did not benefit from cataract surgery because of traumatic involvement of the retina and opacification of posterior capsule.

CONCLUSION

The majority of the eyes with traumatic cataract were safely rehabilitated with intraocular lens implantation.