Long-term Follow-up of the Corneal Endothelium After Pediatric Cataract Surgery

PURPOSE: To evaluate the long-term effects on corneal endothelium after pediatric cataract surgery. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 58 eyes operated for unilateral pediatric cataract with a mean age at the time of cataract surgery of 38.2 ± 41.6 months (range, 1-171 months) and a mean follow-up between cataract surgery and assessments of 149.6 ± 69.8 months (range, 30-319 months). Parameters that were studied were endothelial cell density, hexagonal cell percentage, and coefficient of variation of cell area. Parameters in the operated eyes were compared with the normal unoperated eyes. RESULTS: Regarding the endothelial cell density (Student t test, P = 0.000), there are statistically significant differences between groups (operated and unoperated eyes), with an average loss of 9.2% in the operated eyes. With the hexagonal cell percentage (Student t test, P = 0.508) and the coefficient of variation of cell area (Wilcoxon test, P = 0.595), there was an absence of statistically significant differences between the operated and unoperated eyes. CONCLUSIONS: Endothelial cell loss was 9.2%, and no difference was found in hexagonal cell percentage and coefficient of variation of cell area between the operated and unoperated eyes 12.5 years after unilateral pediatric cataract surgery.