2020–2021 BCSC Basic and Clinical Science Course™
6 Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus
Part II: Pediatric Ophthalmology
Chapter 23: Childhood Cataracts and Other Pediatric Lens Disorders
Cataract Surgery in Pediatric Patients
Complications Following Pediatric Cataract Surgery
Strabismus is very common in children following surgery for either unilateral or bilateral cataracts. The risk of glaucoma is increased in children who have cataract surgery in infancy and in those with small eyes (see Chapter 22), but glaucoma often does not develop until several years after surgery. Corneal decompensation is very rare in children. Retinal detachments are also rare and are most likely to occur when other ocular abnormalities are present. The incidence of macular edema is unknown, as it is difficult to detect ophthalmoscopically in young children and optical coherence tomography is usually not possible. Postoperative endophthalmitis rarely occurs in children after cataract surgery.
Excerpted from BCSC 2020-2021 series: Section 10 - Glaucoma. For more information and to purchase the entire series, please visit https://www.aao.org/bcsc.