Phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation in patients with oculocutaneous albinism

ABSTRACT

Purpose: To evaluate the benefits of phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation in patients with oculocutaneous albinism (OCA).

Method: The charts of 195 patients with OCA who visited a local eye clinic were reviewed. All of these patients had genetic linkage analysis to establish OCA type. Frequencies and Paired t-test analysis were determined.

Results: Of the 195 patients, nine (4.6%) underwent clear cornea phacoemulsification with intraocular lens implantation. Seven of the nine patients with OCA had the Hermansky-Pudlak (HPS) type 1; two had OCA type 1. Pre-operative BCVA of all eyes ranged from 1.0 to 2.3 logMAR with a mean of 1.42 logMAR and a standard deviation of 0.41 logMAR. Post-operative BCVA of all eyes ranged from 1.0 to 1.30 logMAR with a mean of 1.04 logMAR and a standard deviation of 0.10 logMAR. BCVA improved after phacoemulsification surgery and intraocular lens implantation (p = 0.002). Pre-operative astigmatism of all eyes ranged from +0.50 to +5.75 with a mean of +2.25 and a standard deviation of +2.40. Post-operative astigmatism of all eyes ranged from +0.50 to +2.00 with a mean of +1.23 and a standard deviation of +0.42. Astigmatism improved after phacoemulsification surgery and intraocular lens implantation (p = 0.05).

Conclusion: Nine patients with OCA who underwent phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implant experienced improved visual acuity and reduced astigmatism post-operatively. These results suggest cataract surgery may improve vision and refractive errors, and thus quality of life, in patients with albinism.

KEYWORDS:

• Astigmatism
• cataract surgery
• Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome
• oculocutaneous albinism
• phacoemulsification

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Carmen Cadilla, PhD, for her help in the genetic analysis of our patients and Constanza Arena for editing the manuscript.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article. Dr. Izquierdo is a marketing consultant for Alcon Puerto Rico.