Pediatric Ophthalmology & Squint

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Pediatric ophthalmology

It deals with eye diseases, vision care and visual development of children.

Strabismology- It refers to treatment of deviated eyes (squint) in adults and children.

The various disorders treated by a pediatric ophthalmologist & strabismologist are

  • Pediatric strabismus
  • Pediatric cataract
  • Amblyopia
  • Adult Strabismus
  • Allergic disorders (red eye)
  • Retinopathy of prematurity
  • Pediatric glaucoma

SERVICES PROVIDED BY US

 
Visual acuity estimation by different methods

  • For toddlers
  • For pre-school children
  • For  verbal children

Sensorimotor evaluation

  • Motor tests - ocular position and ocular motility
  • Sensory tests for binocular single vision and stereopsis

Anterior segment examination
Posterior segment examination
Evaluation for Nystagmus
Evaluation of Strabismus (squint )

  • Complete evaluation of deviation ( subjective and objective )

Evaluation in special circumstances

  • Prism Adaptation Test

Evaluation of neurological system and other cranial nerves in paretic strabismus
Muscle Balance tests
Synaptophore assessment where required

 

FAQ

  • WHAT IS STRABISMUS?

    Strabismus is a misalignment of the eyes, commonly referred to as “squint.”

  • WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF STRABISMUS?

    The eye may be deviated inwards as in the case of Esotropia, or it may be deviated outwards, which would be a case of Exotropia. In case the eye deviates upwards, the condition would be called Hypertropia, alternately, if it leans downward, it would be a case of Hypotropia.

     

  • CAN STRABISMUS LEAD TO LOW VISION ?

    When the eyes are not perfectly aligned the deviated eye has a chance of developing poor vision.The brain tends to ignore the image of the deviated eye to avoid diplopia and this results in poor visual development.This is often referred to as Strabismic Amblyopia.

  • HOW IS STRABISMUS TREATED?

    Alignment of the eyes is important to ensure that both the eyes work together (Binocular Single Vision). Children might need early intervention to avoid lazy eye. Treatment of Strabismus could be done with the help of glasses, prisms, eye exercises and /or eye muscle surgery.

     

  • WHAT IS LAZY EYE OR AMBLYOPIA?

    “Lazy Eye” is a term commonly used by Pediatric Ophthalmologists. The medical term for lazy eye is amblyopia. An eye is termed lazy when the child does not see with that eye despite wearing glasses.

  • WHAT CAUSES AMBLYOPIA?

    The eye operates similar to a camera. Both are capable of taking continuous shots. All these shots or pictures are automatically processed by the brain. The brain processes only those pictures which are clear. When the child does not wear the correct glasses, that eye fails to focus clearly. It repeatedly takes blurred images and sends them to the brain. The brain in turn rejects these images from the “faulty” eye and only forwards the images from the working eye. Hence, the “faulty” eye despite its ability to “see” cannot see. Problems encountered in visual processing make the eye lazy.

     

  • HOW IS AMBLYOPIA TREATED?

    “Lazy eye” could be corrected. A lazy eye simply needs to do more assignments. The “power” of the lazy eye is accurately corrected so that when proper glasses are worn, that eye can focus appropriately and send clear signals to the brain. By this time, the brain is already trained to ignoring images from the lazy eye and processes only the images from the “better eye.” The challenge of the treatment lies in training the brain to see the images from the “lazy eye.” The doctor covers the better eye, which forces the brain to recognize images from the lazy eye.

  • IS THERE ANY ALTERNATIVE TO PATCHING?

    No there is no alternative treatment other than patching. Sometimes a child can be given Atropine eye ointment to the better eye with or without patching. This forces the child to use the eye with poor vision for distant and near activities.

     

  • HOW CAN AMBLYOPIA BE PREVENTED?

    Amblyopia can be prevented by getting vision screening tested at an early age. Children should undergo eye check-up by the age of five.

     

  • WHAT IS CATARACT?

    Cataract is any opacity or cloudiness of the natural lens which is usually clear.

  • WHAT IS THE TREATMENT?

    If the cataract causes an obstruction in the passage of light it needs to be removed. Cataract surgery should be done as early as possible if it affects children.

     

  • HOW EARLY SHOULD THE CHILD UNDERGO SURGERY?

    The child may undergo surgery as early as 3 months of age.

  • DOES THE CHILD REQUIRE AFTERCARE?

    Following cataract surgery, the child is given glasses and recommended patching to ensure complete visual development. If the steps are not carried out properly, it may result in Visual Deprivation Amblyopia (Low Vision).

  • CAN ADULT STRABISMUS BE CORRECTED?

    Adult strabismus can be corrected following the same method as pediatric strabismus. The misalignment may improve with glasses, with or without surgery.

     

  • CAN STRABISMUS LEAD TO LOW VISION ?

    When the eyes are not perfectly aligned the deviated eye has a chance of developing poor vision.The brain tends to ignore the image of the deviated eye to avoid diplopia and this results in poor visual development.This is often referred to as Strabismic Amblyopia.

  • IS THERE ANY SIDE EFFECT TO SURGERY?

    Adults may complain of temporary diplopia which resolves by a couple of weeks. A red eye, occasional watering and discomfort may persist for a few weeks. Vision threatening side effects are rare.

  • IS THE SURGERY SUCCESSFUL?

    In most of the cases a perfect alignment is achieved. Occasionally a partial alignment is achieved which might require an additional surgery. Sometimes a misalignment may develop after a few years which can be corrected by additional surgeries as well.

  • IS IT ONLY A COSMETIC CORRECTION?

    The improvement in self-image and self-esteem is one of the major benefits of strabismus surgery. Many a times there may be improvement of binocular vision and increase in visual field of the adult patient.