Purpose: The purpose of the study is to evaluate the myopic shift that occurs in children 3 to 9 years of age who undergo cataract extraction with primary intraocular lens (IOL) implantation.
Methods: A review of 18 children (mean, 6.3 +/- 0.5 year; range, 3-9 years) who had undergone primary IOL implantation was undertaken. Patients were observed for an average of 3.2 years. The initial and last postoperative refractive errors were compared.
Results: The mean myopic shift was -0.99 +/- 0.22 diopter (D) (median, 1.0 D) with a range of -3.25 to +0.38 D. The difference in the myopic shift of the children 3 to 5 years of age (-0.94 +/- 0.30 D) was not significantly different from the myopic shift occurring in the children 6 to 9 years of age (-1.07 +/- 0.35 D). The myopic shift was less than 1.5 D in 70% of the eyes and only 3 eyes had a myopic shift greater than 2 D. Ninety percent of the children achieved a visual acuity of 20/40 or better in their pseudophakic eye or eyes.
Conclusions: Although each patient should be evaluated on an individual basis, the authors recommend undercorrecting most children 3 to 9 years of age by 1 D from the IOL power predicted to achieve emmetropia.