Binocular function in pseudophakic children.

PURPOSE: The author reports the results of visual and binocular tests performed on patients who had primary insertion of intraocular lenses following the removal of cataracts in their childhood.

METHODS

Monocular and binocular tests were performed on 21 patients using the same equipment for sensory testing for binocularity on all patients before the history was abstracted from the clinical records. These patients were selected from a consecutive series and observed for a minimum of 5 years by their surgeons.

RESULTS

The mean age at surgery performed on the first eye was 6.3 years. The mean age at the date of the author's examination was 16.5 years and the mean length of follow-up was 10.3 years. All but 2 patients had motor alignment within 8 prism diopters of orthotropia at near. Fusion and some stereopsis was found in 15 patients, but only 4 of these demonstrated fine (60 seconds of arc or better) stereoacuity. Patients with fine versus gross stereoacuity were compared and found to be similar in type of cataract, age at first surgery, interval between surgeries, length of follow-up, and refraction, but different in the quality of best-corrected visual acuity.

CONCLUSION

Although satisfactory motor alignment, fusion, and some stereopsis is present in the majority of patients, fine stereoacuity is uncommon in pseudophakic children.