Central Corneal Thickness, Corneal Endothelial Characteristics and Intraocular Pressure after Pediatric Cataract Surgery

Purpose: To investigate central corneal thickness (CCT), endothelial cell characteristicsand intraocular pressure (IOP) in eyes with prior pediatric cataract surgery and tocompare them with eyes of normal age and sex matched controls.Methods: Specular microscopy CCT and IOP measurements were performed in 31 eyesof 17 patients with prior congenital cataract extraction and 40 eyes of 20 age and sexmatched subjects. The mean of three pachymetric and specular microscopic measurementswere recorded. IOP was measured using Goldmann applanation tonometry.Results: Mean CCT was 632±45 ìm in eyes with prior pediatric cataract surgery vs546±33 ìm in control eyes (P 0.001, independent t test and Mann Whitney U-test).Mean IOP was 22.1±3.9 mmHg in eyes with prior pediatric cataract surgery and14.0±1.6 mmHg in the control group (P 0.001, independent t-test). There was nosignificant difference between the two groups in cell count, polymegethism and meancell area of corneal endothelial cells.Conclusions: Although the corneas were clinically clear and there was no significantdifference in endothelial characteristics in eyes with prior pediatric cataract surgery ascompared to normal controls, central corneal thickness in the operated eyes was significantlygreater. To differentiate actual glaucoma from artifactual IOP increase, CCTmeasurement should be performed in these patients.