Posted by Angela on July 02, 1999 at 10:36:21:
In Reply to: surgery to correct lazy eye question? posted by Charlene on July 01, 1999 at 19:50:00:
Dear Charlene:
My daughter (least preemie of them all!) had surgery to correct divergent strabismus (one eye turned outward). This was done after a year plus of patching and "eye exercises" proved futile.
What the surgery does is restore the muscle balance of the eye. Early treatment (initially through patching and exercises and subsequently through surgery if aforementioned do not work , is important to prevent the less dominant eye from "shutting off" the image.
The things to be aware of : it doesn't always work and some children need additional surgery down the road. I don't recall the statistics, but ask your doc. Secondly, make sure that the doc performing the surgery does this procedure on a REGULAR BASIS - we nearly ended up using the services of a local doc (who does lots and lots of geriatric surgeries) - but then woke up and said, "Why not Colin's Pediatric Opthamologist?"- who does this procedure every single week! Lastly, early treatement is considered to be important in enabling the development of binocular (using BOTH eyes together) vision. Follow-up exams may be required 'till your son is age 8 - 10. Caroline's surgery was performed as a same-day procedure. Lasted about 90 minutes (doc did both eyes) - she was under general anesthesia - did fine in recovery and was allowed to come home that afternoon! The whites of her eyes were blood-red for a week, fading to yellow for a few weeks. At her six-month post-op visit, doc said everything was great and as she is now more verbal, doc checked her vision and everything is a-ok.
Please e.mail me if you have any other questions. Glad to help!
Angela - Mom to Gregory, 7 (34.5) Caroline, 2.75 (36.6) and Colin, 16 mos (24.2)