Long-term Prognosis of Pediatric Ocular Disease.

Several problems differentiate the treatment of children, especially those with congenital ocular disease, from adults, including the absence of complaints and the complication of systemic diseases. However, the most challenging is the continuing developing anatomical and functional development and immaturity in children. Consequently, the timing of disease onset and treatment can greatly affect the prognosis, and the prognosis cannot be confirmed without long-term follow-up periods. The prognosis for unilateral congenital cataract is very poor. However, some cases achieved good vision with successful refractive correction and amblyopia therapy, suggesting that long-term parental enthusiasm and adherence are important for the visual prognosis. Penetrating keratoplasty is rarely performed in children, and outcomes at our hospital have been extremely poor for congenital corneal opacity over the past 28 years. The visual prognosis is also poor for large limbal dermoids approaching the center of the cornea, which did not respond to preoperative amblyopia therapy. Consequently, early excision, lamellar keratoplasty, wearing of hard contact lenses, and amblyopia therapy were considered necessary. Treatment of pediatric ocular disease should consider the pros and cons, methods, and timing, especially the development of the pediatric eye and the time of onset of the disease.