comparison of three types of intraocular lens in pediatric cataract surgery

purpose: to compare the results of three-piece and one- piece hydrophobic acrylic posterior chamber intraocular lens (iol) with poly methyl metacrylate (pmma) iol implanted during lensectomy, posterior capsulotomy and anterior vitrectomy for congenital or developmental cataract. methods: this is a historical cohort study conducted on patients with congenital or developmental cataract who underwent lensectomy, posterior capsulotomy and anterior vitrectomy between 1992 and 2012. main outcomes were best-corrected visual acuity, early and final astigmatism, and postoperative complications including uveitis and visual axis opacification. results: a total of 67 eyes of 39 patients were included in the study. pmma, three-piece (alcon ma60 - ac) and one-piece (alcon sa60 – at) iols were implanted in 27, 22 and 18 eyes, respectively. the mean follow-up period was 101±49, 74±55 and 38±42 months, respectively. best-corrected visual acuity was not significantly different among groups (p=0.823). although early postoperative astigmatism was higher in the pmma group, there was no significant difference among the study groups in the long-term follow-up. the rate of postoperative uveitis, visual axis opacification and a need for laser capsulotomy was comparable in all groups. conclusion: although in-the-bag foldable acrylic iol implantation is preferred during lensectomy, posterior capsulotomy, and anterior vitrectomy for congenital or developmental cataract, pmma posterior chamber intraocular lenses can still be a safe and acceptable alternative, especially when sulcus-fixation of the intraocular lens is scheduled.