1. Community
  2. Eyes
  3. Cataract

My son had a traumatic cataract

Posted , 4 users are following.

ditz81
ditz81

Just before Xmas something blew int my Son's (6 years old) eye. It punctured the cornea and he developed a traumatic cataract. The lens was removed and a stich put in the cornea. As I understood it the next operation would be to remove the stitch and replace the lens. At our last clinic appointment this was confirmed by the doctor. He then bought in a consultant who changed the plans and his next op will be for stitch removal only (he has to have a general anaesthesia to ensure he stays still). I didn't follow the reasoning for it all (but didnt realise until we'd left) and have tried to contact the consultant who said they would call back.... Haven't heard back yet and was wondering if anyone here had any experience? Why would they delay lens replacement? His eye is otherwise healing well and he has had no infection or other problems.

2 likes, 10 replies

10 Replies

  • jude65855
    jude65855 ditz81

    Posted

    What was the "something that blew"?   That could have a bearing on the consultant's decision, but h/she's the only person who can tell you that.  I hope you get some clarification soon:   it all sounds traumatic both for your little boy and for you
    • ditz81
      ditz81 jude65855

      Posted

      Unfortunately we have no idea, whatever it was went in and out and was never found.
    • jude65855
      jude65855 ditz81

      Posted

      Oh I see, I totally misunderstood:  I thought something blew, as in a blood vessel or something internal rupturing, not an insect or something else which flew INTO his eye!   Sorry ....

      It's worrying when specialist doctors rattle off decisions or opinions, don't explain and don't give us a chance to ask what they mean.  It's hard in a crisis situation to ask questions:  I do hope you have some clarity soon

    • jude65855
      jude65855 ditz81

      Posted

      PS:  I just re-read your original post and I mistook "int" for in, so sorry again for bothering you.    
    • ditz81
      ditz81 jude65855

      Posted

      Don't apologise! In my haste I failed to double check. I meant "into".
  • softwaredev
    softwaredev ditz81

    Posted

    When the natural lens is removed, and in almost all case they insert an articial lens during that same surgery, they don't do it later. I'm wondering if something else was damaged in his eye that they need to let heal before inserting the replacement lens.  Another possibility is  e that the capsular bag, which is what holds the lens in the eye, was damaged as well and they needed a different lens that they need to order for it which goes outside the capsular bag. The sort of lens that goes into a capsular bag, which is what most patients receive and that they likely planned on, is different from the sort of lens which can be placed  outside the bag. They may have gone in assuming the capsular bag would work, and discovered it wouldn't. I would make sure they tell you exactly what the issue is. 
  • ditz81
    ditz81

    Posted

    I have today spoken to the consultant and thought I would explain their response here incase anyone comes across similar in the future. Because his was an emergency surgery they could not replace the lens straight away. As it currently stands his vision is fairly good without the lens and he may only need reading glasses but the injury is still healing and things could change and they will implant a lens if/when required. There is also the added complication that he is still growing and his natural eyesight could change in which case he may need a lens change so they are trying to bide their time as much as possible to avoid multiple surgeries.
    • softwaredev
      softwaredev ditz81

      Posted

      It makes sense that during emergency surgery they might not have the right lens in stock, or perhaps due to the eye trauma they didn't think measurements of the eye to determine the lens power would be accurate until it healed. It is extremely unusual for someone to have good vision without a lens, back before they implanted IOLs as a regular practice people used to need very thick "cataract glasses" due to the very high prescription needed to correct most people's vision without an IOL. I'm not a doctor, just a cataract patient that did a great deal of research since mine was atypically young even at 49 when it appeared, which is still far different than a child with a traumatic cataract of course. However I seem to recall in my reading that even in children they would still implant a lens by default, especially if there is an intact capsular bag to place it in. Yes, his vision might change by the time he is an adult, which merely means he'd need to correct it via glasses/contacts or LASIK or PRK as many people do, or that he could consider lens exchange surgery at the time  (which is an added risk, but not much). 
  • ditz81
    ditz81

    Posted

    So we are now a few months down the line and, on the slim chance people are following, I thought I'd update.

    My Son had the stitch removal in early February followed a month later by a clinic appointment to assess his vision and decide on the next course of action.

    His bad eye now requires a +11 prescription. He cannot be given glasses for this as they would be quite heavy and thick but also because one eye is so different to the other his brain wouldn't cope with the two different pictures it would see. So we were left with a choice of a contact lens or an iol. I decided that in the long term surgery would probably be our better option. I think we would have several issues with contact lenses (putting them in and out every day, replacing if lost at school etc). We are also lucky in that he has dealt with surgery very well, the staff are amazed at how well he copes..... he just looks forward to the ice cream in bed he gets after! .... so now we are just waiting for a date and hoping it comes in time for him to be able to enjoy the swimming pool on our summer holidays!

  • ditz81
    ditz81

    Posted

    So we are now 7 months post accident. My son had the iol inserted 2.5 months ago. The surgery went very well (he had 4 tubs of post operative ice cream!) although the recovery was very frustrating as he had to be so careful and he constantly needed to be reminded of this as he felt so fine. So there were a few weeks of me nagging and him being disappointed he couldn't partake in sports/bouncy castles etc....

    We had a check up yesterday and his damaged eye has gone from requiring a prescription of +11 to a -1.75. His good eye is a perfectly normal +1 but because there is a difference of more than 1 they are going to try him with some glasses. He was very pleased with this result and has chosen 2 pairs of Star wars themed specs... very cool!

    He still has some scarring to the cornea from the initial injury.... only time will tell if this disappears.

Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.