My son has worn glasses most of his life due to a lazy eye-eye muscle not strong enough. I was told this is pretty common. He is sch. For eye surgery &I am extremly nervous!!!! Has any child had this done & what was the outcome....
Thank you - nervous mommy
I work at lenscrafters. I think if that is what the doctor thinks is best,do it. If the patch and everything else has not worked this may be the best thing. He may not have to wear glasses once it is done. I would do it. Good luck
Any surgery is scary when it's your child......I had eye problems when I was younger and they gave me a shot in my eye, which was very scary, they told me if I moved, they could blind me!!!!!!
He will be fine.......just be there for him and give him ice cream or his favorite treat......
In my prayers, take care and good luck.
38 years ago I had three surgeries like this when I was a toddler. I am so happy that my parents decided to do this. No one would ever know that I had a lazy eye. My 'lazy' eye is no longer lazy except when I am very tired. Because I wear contact lenses, I can feel when this happens (which is very rarely).
I have no memory of any of these surgeries. I do remember wearing a patch on my 'good' eye to strengthen my weak eye but that is it.
Your child will thank you as he grows older.
Good luck!
J., listen to me please..DO NOT CUT THOSE EYE MUSCLES!!!! Get him to a developmental optometrist immediately. Thye will work on strengthening the muscles with exercises. This is right up my alley. I personally work with several children getting the same thing you are tring to acheive. It works without surgery! Once you cut the muscle there will be big processing issues with the eyes working together. This is called binocular vision. If you need help locating a behavioral/developmental optometrist, write me and I may be able to get a recommendation from the Dr. I work for. Please investigate it because once that is done, there is no turning back! You might also get him evaluated for occupational therapy and test his vestibular system. Most of the time, that is out of whack and the eye turns in. Both vision therapy and OT can get that to turn around. Be nervous, very nervous....not so much about the surgery itself but what happens afterwards with schoolwork.
my little one also had the same surgery when she was 5. she is now 9 and does not have to wear glasses any more. (although she may just because daddy is nearsighted and I am farsighted) but she did great, didnt let her play outside for 1 week, didnt want to get dust in her eyes. little to no pain. The eyes WILL be red, blood red, after surgery, dont let him see you freak out. the doc says it feels like an eyelash is in the eye but no big deal, and try not to let him rub his eyes, like hardcore rub. I think we as moms are more scared that the kids LOL.
You absolutely should be nervous. Surgery on a child is a big deal. I'm a certified ophthalmic technician and have expertise in pediatric ophthalmology. Before letting him undergo surgery, get a second opinion just to make sure that two doctors agree with the same course of treatment. Surgery should be a last resort. Go along with the doctor who takes a more conservative approach (ie-not surgery). Often times there are many things to try before undergoing surgery. Many physicians, particularly those in private practice, are eager to get you into surgery because they make more money doing procedures than they do with regular appointments. I have worked with ophthalmologist who are all to eager to get a patient into the OR without executing the more conservative course of treatment first. Hence the reason I recommend the 2nd opinion, just to make sure the doctors are on the same page and agree with the course of treatment. Also, you should strongly consider making a visit to the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. It'll be a trek for you, especially with a child, they have offices Naples, Plantation, Palm Beach Gardens, and Miami. They are part of the Univ. of Miami and they are the TOP ranke #1 eye hospital in the country. The doctors there are worth their weight in gold and all of them are the LEADERS in their field/specialty. I had eye problems with my son, and I wouldn't think of taking him anywhere else. Good luck mama.
oh what a hard thing to have to go through, for you AND him! Good luck to you both. Here is an article I just read about eye surgery, it is more about WHEN to do it. But I thought you might think it is interesting.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20100820/sc_livescien...
About 8 years ago we had a foster son that had this surgery while he lived with us. His surgery was out-patient and the only thing he ever mentioned was that it felt "itchy" for a few days. He did still need glasses after, but his eye no longer turned in so he was happy about that.
Good luck!
Anytime a dr recommends surgery on your child, you get nervous. First, research your dr. Make sure he has a really good record with this kind of surgery. You can ask for recommendations from other pateints. If you're not comfortable, keep checking out drs until you find one with a really good reputation and a great record.
It's been almost 30 year now, but I was in the same situation you're in. My son was just over 1 when the dr said he had lazy eye and needed surgery. I panicked and ran from that dr to another one. The second dr actually wanted me to go back to first dr but he agreed to treat my son. We tried everything from glasses to patches and eye exercises to keep him away from surgery. Unfortunately, nothing worked. Eventually I returned to the first dr. As a result of my delay, he had lost sight in the lazy eye. I agreed to the surgery. It took about an hour, but my son did great. Recovery was very easy. Even the dr was surprised at how well he did - no red eye, no pain, nothing. He had both eyes open and was playing in the waiting room (those were the days when you had to spend the night in the hospital). The dr waited a little bit to patch his strong eye and eventually he got his sight back in the lazy eye. Unfortunately, he only sees with one eye at a time. Fortunately, he was young enough at the time, he adjusted quickly and has no vision problems.
Fast forward many years -- My youngest son also had a lazy eye. In another attempt to avoid surgery, we did the eye exercises like some have recommended. They seemed to work for a little while but I'm not convinced the eye glasses didn't have a lot to do with the correction. Eventually, nothing worked - not exercises or glasses or a combination of both. The muscles took over and the eye looked worse. He was in college when he finally had surgery. It was out-patient and took about 4 hours from check in to departure. His recovrey was much more difficult and longer.
You can get a second opinion but let the second dr know that's what you're doing. I did that with my first son and then promptly ignored the recommendation of both drs. It almost cost my son his vision in one eye. With my younger son, I listened to an optometrist who absolutely refused to discuss surgery and just wanted my son to continue with the eye exercises even when it clearly wasn't working. It's your choice. But I can tell you that the surgery is quick and easy. As young as your son is, he'll recover quickly - just a couple of days and he'll be good as new. He'll forget all about it and, if you have before and after pictures (definitely get the before pics), when he's older, he'll thank you for his straight eyes.
Take care and please let us know what you decide to do.
My son did not have a lazy eye, just a lazy eyelid. Like you, when the doctor scheduled surgery I was so nervous. I posted my fears on here as well. Anyway, they did the surgery, and though I didn't think it was possible, he is even more handsome than ever! He is now 22 months and you would never know he had a lazy eyelid or had surgery.
Good luck. It is scary and I felt so bad during and even after the surgery...the whole time I was thinking "what kind of mother am I to put my child through this". Now I know it was the right thing to do....and it will save him from the mean kids later :-)
