Outcomes after lensectomy for children with Marfan syndrome

Risk Factors for Retinal Detachment in Marfan Syndrome After Pediatric Lens Removal

PURPOSE

To determine retinal detachment (RD) risk factors after lens removal surgery in children with Marfan syndrome (MS).

DESIGN

Retrospective, case control study.

METHODS

This was an institutional case series including children (age <18 years) with MS who underwent lens removal surgery. Clinical and surgical characteristics were extracted from the children's electronic files: age, axial length (AL), gender, number of surgeries received, intraocular lens (IOL) implantation at the first surgery, complete removal of the capsular bag, and final best-corrected visual acuity. Risk factors associated with RD occurrence were identified.

RESULTS

Among 158 eyes included (85 children), 35 eyes (22.2%) developed RD during follow-up. Bilateral detachment occurred in 11 patients (45.8%). Age at the time of the lens removal surgery was not different between groups. Children in the RD group had a higher AL (P < .001), longer follow-up, IOL implantation, and capsular residue. Multivariate analysis identified capsular residue (odds ratio, 16.8; 95% CI, 1.9-148.8; P = .01) and AL (odds ratio, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.01-1.7; P = .03) as predictors for RD.

CONCLUSIONS

Children with MS and increased AL were more likely to develop an RD after lens surgery. When considering lens removal surgery in a pediatric population presenting with MS, a complete capsular removal seemed to be the safer option regarding RD risk.

The Outcome of Artisan Intraocular Lens Implantation in Children: A Narrative Review

Aphakia is a condition in which the eye's crystalline lens is not in its proper position because of a perforating injury, surgical removal, dislocation of the lens, or congenital anomaly. The management of aphakia can be either conservative or surgical. Various surgical techniques could be used, including retro pupillary-fixated iris-claw intraocular lenses (IOLs) and anterior-fixated iris-claw IOLs. One of the challenges faced by ophthalmologists is the optical rehabilitation of pediatric aphakic patients because a child's eye is still growing, resulting in fundamental variations in their refractive elements, and the immature visual system faces the risks of amblyopia development in the case of defocus or inequality of visual input between both eyes. There is also the risk of the incidence of side effects that can be accepted in adults but not in children. Finally, accurate postoperative supervision and optical rehabilitation in pediatrics will be more complex than that in adults. This review showed that it is possible to place, replace, and exchange the Artisan IOL with minor surgical trauma. Hence, this procedure can be an acceptable therapeutic method for correcting the developmental refractive changes of the growing aphakic eye. However, some worries are still caused by probable long-term side effects, including endothelial cell loss. Finally, a significant attempt at visual rehabilitation is to treat pediatric aphakia with Artisan IOL.

Scleral-fixated vs Iris-fixated intraocular lens in pediatric ectopia lentis: A systematic review

Numerous intraocular lens (IOLs) options are available for treating pediatric ectopia lentis, and this paper reviews recent literature on pediatric ectopia lentis treatment with iris-fixated and scleral-fixated IOLs. A comprehensive search was undertaken on PubMed, Embase, ProQuest, Cochrane, Wiley, SCOPUS, and EBSCO. Studies published in the last ten years that met the inclusion criteria were included in this review. Seventeen studies exhibiting low to moderate risk of bias were included in this review, with eight on iris-fixated IOL (IFIOL), six on scleral-fixated IOL (SFIOL), and three on both IOLs. From the included studies, these data were extracted and compared: best-corrected visual acuity, endothelial cell density, postoperative complications, IOL stability, and intraocular pressure. IFIOL and SFIOL show comparable lens stability, offer good visual rehabilitation, and demonstrate equivalent safety profiles. There is no discerning superiority between IFIOL and SFIOL in treating pediatric ectopia lentis. The choice of which IOL to implant depends on the surgeon's preference.

Outcomes of surgical intervention in cases of ectopia lentis

Purpose:

To evaluate the outcomes of surgical intervention in cases of ectopia lentis.

Methods:

This retrospective study included all cases of ectopia lentis that presented between June 2015 and March 2019 in a tertiary care center. They were reviewed retrospectively. The corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), severity of lens subluxation, type of surgery, intra-operative and post-operative complication, and specular count were recorded.

Results:

Seventy-eight eyes of 57 cases with a mean age at surgery of 14.73 years were analyzed. Intra-lenticular lens aspiration was the most common (n-62/78; 79.5%) surgical procedure followed by lens aspiration, intra-capsular cataract extraction, phaco-aspiration, and pars-plana lensectomy. Simultaneous intra-ocular lens (IOL) implantation was performed in 46.2% (n-32/78) of the eyes. The mean CDVA improved from 0.85 ± 0.55 logMAR to 0.44 ± 0.29 logMAR at 6 weeks follow-up. The post-operative CDVA was significantly better in the pseudo-phakic group compared to the aphakic group (p-0.02). The patient’s age at the time of surgery and the degree of subluxation did not impact the final visual outcome. Intra-operative complication included vitreous hemorrhage (n-1) and lens matter drop (n-1). Post-operative complications were noted in 26.9% of the eyes (n-21/78) with a higher complication rate in the pseudo-phakic group (p-0.00). A second intervention was required in 7.7% of the eyes (n-6/78).

Conclusion:

Age and degree of subluxation at the time of surgery do not influence the final visual outcome in cases of ectopia lentis undergoing lens extraction surgery. IOL implantation results in better visual outcomes but is associated with a high complication rate.

Surgical Management of Paediatric Aphakia in the Absence of Sufficient Capsular Support

There are several available options for the demanding surgical correction of paediatric aphakia without sufficient capsular support. The literature suggests the implantation of a transscleral fixated posterior chamber-intraocular lens (PCIOL), an intrascleral fixated PCIOL, an iris-sutured intraocular lens (IOL), or an anterior chamber iris-claw IOL. We searched for reports on the management of paediatric aphakia in case of inadequate capsular support that delineated the diverse surgical approaches and their postoperative results. Analysis demonstrated that different complications can be encountered depending on IOL placement technique, such as suture rupture, IOL dislocation, secondary glaucoma, endophthalmitis, vitreous hemorrhage, and endothelial cell loss. However, it was shown that various IOL designs have similar visual outcomes. Taking into consideration the advantages and disadvantages of each surgical technique, ophthalmic surgeons can determine the safest and most efficient approach for paediatric aphakic patients.

Incidence of retinal detachment after lens surgery in children and young adults with nontraumatic ectopia lentis

PURPOSE

To determine the incidence of retinal detachment after lens surgery in children and young adults with nontraumatic ectopia lentis.

SETTING

Population-based claims data.

DESIGN

Population-based retrospective cohort study.

METHODS

Patients with nontraumatic ectopia lentis aged 30 years or younger who had undergone lens surgery with or without intraocular lens (IOL) implantation and had 1 year or greater continuous enrollment after lens surgery were included in the Optum deidentified Clinformatics Data Mart Database (2003 to 2019) and IBM MarketScan Databases (2007 to 2016). Both databases were assessed for sex, age, etiology of ectopia lentis, IOL implantation, and postoperative retinal detachment separately. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to identify the risk factors for postoperative retinal detachment.

RESULTS

Among a total of 298 eyes (210 patients), IOL implantation was coupled with lens surgery in 151 eyes (49.8%) that underwent lens surgery for nontraumatic ectopia lentis. The median follow-up was 32 months in aphakic eyes and 29 months in pseudophakic eyes. Patients undergoing IOL implantation were older at the time of lens surgery (median age: no IOL, 6 years; IOL, 16 years; P < .001). Retinal detachment developed in 13 patients (14 eyes [4.7%]) 14 eyes (4.7%). Older age was the baseline characteristic that correlated most closely with the risk for retinal detachment (P = .05).

CONCLUSIONS

The rate of retinal detachment was similar with or without IOL implantation after lens surgery for nontraumatic ectopia lentis in children and young adults.

Need of additional iridotomies despite lens extraction in spherophakes

Spherophakes are known to have irregular anterior chamber (AC) depths due to their poorly supported zonules. This irregularity leads to an unstable AC, often resulting in angle closure glaucoma from anterior subluxation of globular lenses. A peripheral iridotomy may be helpful to encourage aqueous drainage in initial stages, however, is not often required once lens is extracted. But, we have observed persistent instability of AC in spherophakic eyes despite lens extraction, leading to frequent iridocorneal contact locally over some quadrants. The presumed aetiology in such scenarios could be constant anteroposterior instability of IOL-bag complex due to generalised zonulopathy and hence localised iris bombe in areas with previous iridocorneal contact. Timely identification and performing additional iridotomies during surgery at such sectors even after lens extraction facilitated symmetric deepening of the AC. Hence, we recommend use of additional iridotomies at areas with persistent iridocorneal contact even after lens extraction.

A scoping review presenting a wide variety of research on paediatric and adolescent patients with Marfan syndrome

Aim

The present study aimed to map and summarise the research on children, aged 0‐18 years, with Marfan syndrome, identify research gaps and point to research agendas.

Methods

A scoping review was systematically performed by searching multiple databases from January 1996 to April 2019. Primary studies presenting results on at least six individuals aged 0‐18 years with Marfan syndrome, diagnosed according to the Ghent nosology, were selected.

Results

From 2341 de‐duplicated records, 92 papers were included, mapped and described. Their topics were diagnostics (12%), cardiovascular matters (50%), skeletal matters (22%), ocular matters (9%), other medical aspects (5%) and psychosocial perspectives (2%). Most studies were from Europe and North America and published between 1999 and 2019 in subject‐specific or paediatric journals, while a few were published in genetics journals. All studies had quantitative designs, and very few were multicentre studies. Each study had six to 608 subjects for a total of approximately 5809.

Conclusion

A wide range of research topics on adolescent and paediatric Marfan syndrome was found, but qualitative studies and a focus on psychosocial matters were lacking. Future investigations addressing noncardiovascular consequences and patient experiences are needed, as well as studies reaffirming or replicating existing intervention study results.

Surgical management of non-syndromic ectopia lentis

AIM

To compare whether aphakic contact lenses or secondary iris-claw intraocular lenses are superior in the refractive management post-pars plana vitreolensectomy in a pedigree with an FBN1 mutation causing non-syndromic ectopia lentis (NSEL) with retinal detachment (RD).

METHODS

Eight affected individuals had pars plana vitreolensectomy for bilateral ectopia lentis (EL). Twelve eyes of 6 patients had secondary iris-claw intraocular lenses inserted and 4 eyes of 2 patients were managed with contact lenses. Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) was treated when necessary. Pre- and post-operative assessment included visual acuity, endothelial cell count and dilated fundal examination.

RESULTS

Macula-on RRD was present in all individuals >18y, 64% (7/11 eyes) presenting post-vitreolensectomy with 57% having bilateral non-synchronous RRD. Surgical aphakia was managed with iris-fixated intraocular lenses (IOL group, n=6), or contact lenses (CL group, n=2). Visual acuity ≥0.3 logMAR (driving standard) was achieved in 75% of IOL group eyes and 25% of the CL group eyes. Mean loss of corneal endothelial cell count in the IOL group was 4% at 2y post-operative.

CONCLUSION

In this cohort, refractive management with iris-claw IOLs provided superior outcomes to contact lenses and the authors recommend this as the optimal refractive correction in EL patients.

The Influence of Decentration on Higher-Order Aberrations in Artisan Aphakic Intraocular Lens Implantation Eyes

Purpose

To characterize the influence of decentration on higher-order aberrations of Artisan aphakic intraocular lens implantation eyes. Setting. Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Science, Eye and ENT Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China.

Design

Retrospective case series.

Methods

Twenty-three eyes of 18 patients were retrospectively examined. Location of the IOL was imaged using a slit-lamp, and decentration (the distance from the center of a pupil to the geometric center of the IOL) was measured using the AutoCAD 2007 software. Ocular and internal higher-order aberrations were measured using the wavefront analyzer KR-1W (Topcon) and their correlation with decentration were analyzed. Coma, spherical, 3rd-, 4th-order, trefoil, tetrafoil aberrations, ocular, and internal higher-order aberrations were calculated for a 4.0 mm pupil diameter.

Results

The mean age of patients was 33.6 ± 21.4 years (ranging from 7 to 72 years). The mean follow-up period was 28.2 ± 10.5 months (ranging from 12 to 52 months). The mean postoperative best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 0.19 ± 0.19 logMAR (range −0.18–0.52). The mean decentration was 0.57 ± 0.28 mm (range 0.15–1.21 mm). There was no correlation between Artisan IOL decentration and ocular higher-order aberrations, internal higher-order aberrations, coma, spherical, 3rd-, 4th-order, trefoil, and tetrafoil aberrations, respectively. There was a positive correlation between Artisan IOL decentration and 2nd-astig aberrations when 2nd-astig aberrations were less than 0.1.

Conclusions

The position of Artisan IOLs showed slight decentration and the amounts of decentration were not large enough to influence higher-order aberrations.

A FBN1 variant manifesting as non-syndromic ectopia lentis with retinal detachment: clinical and genetic characteristics

Background/objectives

Fibrillin-1 (FBN1) mutations cause connective tissue dysgenesis the main ocular manifestation being ectopia lentis (EL), which may be syndromic or non-syndromic. We describe a pedigree with a FBN1 mutation causing non-syndromic EL with retinal detachment (RRD) and their management.

Subjects/methods

Patients with familial EL with RRD were invited to participate (vitreoretinopathy branch of Target 5000, the Irish inherited retinal degeneration study). All patients signed full informed consent. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the Mater Hospital, Dublin and abided by the Declaration of Helsinki.

Results

Seven adults were affected with bilateral EL. All subjects had RRD with bilateral non-synchronous RRD in 57%.

Conclusions

The FBN1 variant described herein confers an increased risk of both EL and RRD and can now be upgraded to ‘pathogenic’ ACMG status.

Management Strategies of Ocular Abnormalities in Patients with Marfan Syndrome: Current Perspective

Marfan syndrome is an autosomal dominant genetic connective tissue disorder that results from mutations in the fibrillin-1 gene located on chromosome band 15q15-21. Fibrillin, a glycoprotein, is widely expressed throughout the body and contributes to the elasticity and force-bearing capacity of connective tissue. In the eye, fibrillin is a key constituent of the ciliary zonules, which suspend the crystalline lens in place. The zonular defect leads to ectopia lentis, which is a hallmark of Marfan ocular abnormalities and occurs in 60% to 80% of cases. Other less common ocular features of Marfan syndrome are increased axial length, astigmatism, and flat cornea. Visual function in Marfan syndrome could be affected in several ways: ectopia lentis, refractive error, amblyopia, retinal detachment, cataract, and glaucoma. Management of a subluxated lens starts with the correction of refractive error with eyeglasses in mild cases. In more severe cases, especially when the lens bisects the pupil, complete correction of refractive error is impossible without removing the subluxated lens. The best method for visual rehabilitation after lens extraction is still debated. Aphakic Artisan lens implantation at the time of subluxated lens removal results in good visual outcomes with an acceptable safety profile. Studies with longer term follow-up and larger sample populations are needed to evaluate the safety of this procedure in patients with Marfan syndrome.