Babies are rarely born with aphakia. Occurrence most often results from surgery to remove a congenital
cataract. Congenital cataracts usually develop as a result of infection of the fetus or genetic reasons. It is often difficult to identify the exact cause of these cataracts, especially if only one eye is affected.
People with aphakia have relatively small
pupils and their pupils dilate to a lesser degree.[2]
Causes
Surgical removal of a lens, mainly in cataract surgery, is the most common cause of aphakia.[1] Spontaneous traumatic absorption or congenital absence of lens matter is rare.[3][4] Traumatic subluxation or dislocation of a lens may cause it.[1]
Signs and symptoms
Hypermetropia: Without the focusing power of the lens, the eye becomes very
farsighted.
Loss of accommodation: Since the lens and its
zonules are responsible for adjusting the focus of vision to different lengths, patients with aphakia will have a total loss of
accommodation.
Defective vision: High degree hypermetropia and total loss of accommodation cause defective vision for both distance and near.
Cyanopsia: Absence of lens cause cyanopsia or blue vision.[1] Some individuals have said that they perceive ultraviolet light, invisible to those with a lens, as whitish blue or whitish-violet.[5][6]
Spectacle intolerance: Due to image
magnification (up to 30%),
optical aberration, prismatic effect and roving ring scotoma, spectacles are not well tolerated by aphakic patients.[8] Due to
unequal refractive power between the eyes, wearing spectacles with single-eye aphakia may cause
double vision.[8]
Glaucoma: Secondary angle closure glaucoma may occur due to vitreous prolapse.[9]
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abcdefghKhurana, AK (2015). "Errors of refraction and accommodation". Comprehensive ophthalmology (6th ed.). Jaypee, The Health Sciences Publisher. pp. 37–38.
ISBN978-93-86056-59-7.