Abstract

The surgical treatment of adults with cataracts is one of the most common and most successful of procedures, with 93% of adult patients achieving 20/40 or better acuity (Stark et al., 1987). In contrast, outcome following surgical treatment of infants with dense congenital unilateral cataracts historically has been dismal, with few patients achieving 20/200 acuity and most achieving only light perception (Hiles and Waller, 1977; Shapiro et al, 1978). Despite routinely excellent surgical outcomes and the availability of infant aphakic contact lenses, the unilateral visual deprivation experienced by these infants during the first months of life results in a severe abnormality in visual development which is often resistant to any late efforts toward visual rehabilitation. However, data from animal models of unilateral visual deprivation suggest that there may exist an early critical period during which the effects of visual deprivation are, at least to some extent, reversible (Hubei, 1982; von Noorden and Crawford, 1979; Weisel, 1982).

© 1995 Optical Society of America