Ultrasound biomicroscopy for the assessment of postoperative complications after congenital cataract surgery.

BACKGROUND

The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) in the evaluation of postoperative complications in children with congenital cataracts.

METHODS

A retrospective study was conducted between September 2012 and December 2016 at Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center. Red reflex test and high-resolution bag/balloon UBM were performed to evaluate postoperative congenital cataracts. The red reflex test results were recorded, and UBM imaging results were recorded and analyzed. Different postoperative complications were classified based on the UBM imaging features, and a second procedure was performed accordingly. The UBM images were compared with the images captured from the intraoperative videos.

RESULTS

In total, we looked at 120 eyes in 96 patients (65 males and 31 females) in the present study. The age of the cohort was 3-76 months. A total of 51 eyes with poor red reflex were included. There were complications in 46 eyes after congenital cataract surgery, as detected by UBM, including posterior capsular opacification (n=29 eyes), pupil block (n=8 eyes), synechia (n=5 eyes), hyphema (n=1 eye), and abnormal intraocular lens (IOL) placement (n=3 eyes). UBM images showed specific features of postoperative complications.

CONCLUSIONS

UBM is a valuable tool for the early evaluation of postoperative complications of congenital cataracts, especially for those with media opacities or when pupil dilation is not possible.