SUMMARY:
Objective: Study of the anatomical and functional results of the surgery of the post-
traumatic cataracts in the older children from 0 to 15 years at the Tropical Institute of
Ophthalmology of Africa of February 2011 in February 2012.
PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a prospective study of patients who
underwent surgery at University Hospital-IOTA in Bamako (Mali) for a cataract
caused by trauma; Between February 2011 to February 2012. The epidemiological,
clinical, therapeutic and anatomical and functional results were analyzed using the
software SPSS Statistics 19.0
Results: Sixty patients, mean age 7,83 years (2 years, 15 years), underwent surgery
for traumatic cataract during this period. Male gender was predominant (55.0%) with
a sex ratio of 1.2. Children of age group 6 to under 10 were most at risk (53.4%). The
circumstances of occurrence were, respectively, the game crashes (60%), fighting
(26.7%), and other unidentified (10.0%), unknown circumstances by parents (3.3%).
Cataract was total in 77.7% of cases. Sixty patients (100%) were in a state of
unilateral blindness to the first consultation. Thirty-four eyes were operated on sixty
(66.7%) by Phacophagie + implant in the anterior chamber. Of the 60 eyes, 53 eyes
(88.37%) were implanted in the posterior chamber. We had 14 cases of vitreous loss
occurred before and during surgery. Only 13 eyes at J 30 have recovered a corrected
visual acuity greater than or equal to 3/10 °.
Discussion: The incidence of traumatic cataract increases proportionally to the
increase of ocular trauma. At the clinical and therapeutic unilateralism is the rule. The
anatomical and functional prognosis is most at risk if injury opens. Over a third of
patients have benefited from the implant. But the assessment of visual acuity in
children remains a problem.
Conclusion: The traumatic cataract is a condition increasingly common, and
remains the leading cause of monocular blindness in developing countries. This is a
disorder whose severity is still commonplace because of its unilateral nature. It still
poses problems in our structure of management of aphakia in children.
Keywords: traumatic cataract, blindness, sidedness.