Cataracts and babies: a new
finding after a five-year study
Amazing
6-year-old dons
own contacts
A landmark, five-year nationwide study, based at the Emory Eye Center,
reported new findings for babies who have undergone cataract surgery.
Results of the clinical trial, which was led by principle investigator Scott Lambert,
suggest that use of contact lenses for several years, followed by an eventual lens
implant, may be a better solution for most infants who have had cataract surgery
than implantation of an intraocular lens (IOL) immediately after surgery, previously
the standard of care for both adults and children. The Infant Aphakia Treatment
Study found that for babies, use of a contact lens initially was preferred.
The Emory Eye Center, one of 12 selected sites in the U.S., was the lead center for
the study. The nationwide trial, conducted at Emory by a team of 10, was funded in
part by the National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health.
“When we began this study, the prevailing theory was that IOLs would be the
better option for infants following cataract removal because IOLs correct vision
constantly, while contact lenses can be removed or dislodged from the eye. But our
data suggest that if the family can manage it, contact lenses are the better option
until the child gets older,” said Lambert.
Briana Schwartz, who
participated in the
Infant Aphakia Treatment Study, received a
diagnosis of cataract at
1 day of age. She was
prescribed a contact lens
following her cataract
surgery at 1 month of
age. Over the next few
years of her young life
Briana’s mother, Erin,
was tasked with putting
in and removing the
contact lens, something
she took very seriously.
But at the tender age
of 4, Briana told her
mother she wanted to
put in her lens herself.
And so she did—an
amazing skill for a child
of any age.
When Briana is older,
she and her parents
will decide if she wants
an intraocular lens or
prefers to stay with a
contact lens. Until that
day, she remains a fortunate girl in having been
diagnosed and treated
at such an early age.
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