Long-term follow-up of the corneal endothelium after aphakic iris-fixated IOL implantation for bilateral cataract in children

PURPOSE: To evaluate the long-term corneal endothelial cell density (ECD) and outcomes after iris-fixated aphakic intraocular lens (IOL) implantation in children after bilateral congenital or juvenile cataract extraction and to compare the outcomes with data in the literature. SETTING: Academic Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. DESIGN: Case series. METHODS: This retrospective study evaluated the charts and endothelial photographs of children who had Artisan aphakic IOL implantation. The main outcome measure was the ECD at the last follow-up visit. RESULTS: The mean age of the 10 patients (20 eyes) at IOL implantation was 7.4 years (range 4.3 to 11.1 years) and at the last follow-up, 19.6 years (range 14.3 to 26.6 years). After a mean follow-up of 12.3 years (range 10.0 to 15.6 years), the mean ECD was 2702 cells/mm(2) (range 1382 to 3974 cells/mm2). Although this is comparable to the mean normal endothelial cell counts in this age group reported in the literature, a wider range of ECD was found in the current study. CONCLUSIONS: The mean corneal ECD after more then 10 years of follow-up was comparable to the mean normal ECD for this age group reported in the literature. The high standard deviation of the mean ECD in the current study highlights the importance of prospective studies on the ECD after iris-fixated aphakic IOL implantation in young patients.