2015 Emory Eye Magazine | Page 21

Cataracts and babies: a new finding after a five-year study Amazing 6-year-old dons own contacts A landmark, five-year nationwide study, based at the Emory Eye Center, reported new findings for babies who have undergone cataract surgery. Results of the clinical trial, which was led by principle investigator Scott Lambert, suggest that use of contact lenses for several years, followed by an eventual lens implant, may be a better solution for most infants who have had cataract surgery than implantation of an intraocular lens (IOL) immediately after surgery, previously the standard of care for both adults and children. The Infant Aphakia Treatment Study found that for babies, use of a contact lens initially was preferred. The Emory Eye Center, one of 12 selected sites in the U.S., was the lead center for the study. The nationwide trial, conducted at Emory by a team of 10, was funded in part by the National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health. “When we began this study, the prevailing theory was that IOLs would be the better option for infants following cataract removal because IOLs correct vision constantly, while contact lenses can be removed or dislodged from the eye. But our data suggest that if the family can manage it, contact lenses are the better option until the child gets older,” said Lambert. Briana Schwartz, who participated in the Infant Aphakia Treatment Study, received a diagnosis of cataract at 1 day of age. She was prescribed a contact lens following her cataract surgery at 1 month of age. Over the next few years of her young life Briana’s mother, Erin, was tasked with putting in and removing the contact lens, something she took very seriously. But at the tender age of 4, Briana told her mother she wanted to put in her lens herself. And so she did—an amazing skill for a child of any age. When Briana is older, she and her parents will decide if she wants an intraocular lens or prefers to stay with a contact lens. Until that day, she remains a fortunate girl in having been diagnosed and treated at such an early age. 2 0 1 5 | E m o r y E y e 19