Clinical Results of Prosthetic Eye Wear in Patients with Congenital Microphthalmos

Purpose: To report the long-term clinical outcomes of non-surgical treatment involving prosthetic eye wear in patients diagnosed with congenital microphthalmos.Methods: A retrospective review of the medical records of 20 patients was conducted. In total, 21 eyes were diagnosed with congenital microphthalmos between May 2008 and December 2022 at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital in Korea.Results: This study included 20 patients (12 males and 8 females) with an average age of 4 months at diagnosis. The observed ophthalmic anomalies included two cases of congenital cataract, one of posterior embryotoxon, one of corneo-iris strand, four of iris coloboma, five of central corneal opacity, one of Peter's anomaly, and one of retrobulbar cyst. Accompanying systemic abnormalities were noted, such as lateral ventricle atrophy, corpus callosum atrophy, patent ductus arteriosus, atrial septal defect, and developmental language disorder. Genetic anomalies included anti SS-A/Ro antibody positivity, a 1:100 titer of anti-nuclear antibody, and a PAX6 mutation identified through next-generation sequencing. No specific family histories or pregnancy-related factors were noted. The average follow-up duration was 5.94 years (range: 1 month to 18 years), the average corneal diameter was 4.6 mm, the average axial length was 17.44 mm, the average age for first artificial eye trial was 5.96 years (range: 7 months to 19 years), and the average interval for artificial eye replacement was 22 months (range: 4 months to 5 years and 8 months).Conclusions: Twenty patients with congenital microphthalmos underwent gradual expansion of their prosthetic eyes by regular replacement and size increase without severe complications. This approach led to aesthetically and emotionally positive outcomes for the patients.