Epikeratophakia in children with corneal lacerations.

Epikeratophakia grafts were used to optically correct aphakia in six children who suffered traumatic cataracts and corneal lacerations which were greater than 3 mm in length. The ages of the patients at the time of corneal laceration ranged from nine months to 3 3/12 years. Five of the six grafts were successful. The average increase in corneal curvature was 16.11 diopters with an average over-refraction of -0.73 diopters. The deprivation interval in the five children with successful grafts ranged from two months to two years, and the average visual acuity for the four verbal patients with successful grafts was 20/60. This series demonstrates that epikeratophakia grafts can be successfully applied to scarred and irregular corneas and may be superior to penetrating keratoplasty in some cases, because epikeratophakia allows for a prompt restoration of visual function.