Congenital cataract and intraocular lenses.

We implanted nine intraocular lenses for the aphakic correction of congenital monocular cataracts in eight children (eight eyes). During follow-up periods ranging from 18 to 50 months in six children, there were no major complications connected to the surgery. Parental cooperation with treatment for amblyopia was satisfactory in all cases. The degree of strabismus, the fixation pattern, and the optokinetic nystagmus responses improved postoperatively in all six. Three children old enough to cooperate during visual testing had visual acuities better than 20/200 and two of these had visual acuities of 20/40. In all six children the sound eye is still patched for three to six hours a day. All six attend regular kindergartens and participate in their normal activities without difficulty.