Corneal involvement in congenital aniridia.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this research is 2-fold. First of all, the level of keratopathy development in patients with congenital aniridia is studied. In addition, a correlation between the effects of ocular surgery on the severity of keratopathy is made.

METHODS

A thorough search for the total number of patients with aniridia in Sweden and Norway was performed. One hundred eighty-one patients were identified and 124 (69%) of these were examined. Three artificial eyes, 16 eyes with corneal transplants, and 1 eye with a corneal limbal allograft were excluded from the study. All participating patients underwent clinical ophthalmologic examinations, including photographs, and their medical history was recorded. A slit lamp was used to examine the presence of keratopathy.

RESULTS

Visible keratopathy was found in 80% of the eyes. Keratopathy that caused impaired visual acuity was found in 26% of the eyes. The study displayed a significant correlation between the level of keratopathy and the patient's age. A significant correlation between the level of keratopathy and intraocular surgery exists. This is irrespective of the patient's age. The study also found that irrespective of the patient's age, a significant correlation between the level of keratopathy and impaired corneal sensitivity exists.

CONCLUSIONS

This research identified the presence of visible keratopathy in 80% of eyes. In addition, 26% of eyes had a keratopathy level that caused visual disturbances. The study showed that the prevalence and severity of keratopathy increased with the patient's age. Further conclusions are that intraocular surgery increases the severity of keratopathy and that the severity of keratopathy is correlated to reduced corneal sensitivity. Finally, extreme care should be taken when selecting patients for intraocular surgery because this procedure can trigger the development of keratopathy.