Undergoing strabismus surgery is one of the most reliable treatments for strabismus. Other treatments are based on the type of strabismus condition a person is suffering from. Additional factors that are taken into consideration include: amblyopia, convergence insufficiency or double vision. Vision therapy is one of the non-surgical treatment options that is available and can help in improving the vision of someone suffering from strabismus.
Most of the time the surgery will improve the cosmetic appearance, but will not actually correct and improve the eyesight of the affected individual. Parents should explore all the available treatment options before agreeing to an eye surgery. Inquiring about the possible outcome of the surgery is very important for parents. Will after the surgery your child have a better vision and/or better appearance? Will there be a future need for multiple surgeries? It’s very important for the surgeon to tell you the chances of your child undergoing repeat surgeries in the future.
Normal Vision (Binocular Cure) vs Normal Appearance (Cosmetic Cure)
In order to achieve perfect cosmetic alignment, your child will need to undergo two or three eye surgeries. When considering binocular cure, the patient or parent needs to understand that if after the surgery, the eyes are not perfectly straight, then the eyes cannot function as one organ. At the end of the day, the main objective of the surgery should be to make the eyes work more effectively together and then look better. Look at the statistics of binocular cure and those of cosmetic cure.
Treatment before and after the surgery
The eye surgery independently cannot achieve the perfect alignment, it can only guarantee cosmetic improvement. The help of a qualified eye doctor will be needed so that the two eyes can be stimulated to function together with prism, vision therapy and contacts. Go for a consultation before and after the strabismus surgery. If surgery happens to be the only option, then it should be done by a strabismus expert. When the patient is under the critical period (after surgery), vision therapy must be initiated or the chances of the whole procedure being successful will be minimal. Your age will also determine whether undergoing a surgery is necessary. Get different an opinion from a surgeon and an optometrist who specializes in strabismus.
The vision therapy makes uses the motor and the sensor. The motor’s aim is to help the two eyes have correct aim at an object, while the sensor helps the eyes in unifying the two images hence have one 3D image.
At the end of the day, parents will want to achieve both better vision and appearance for their children. This means attaining a two eyed vision after the surgery or after the vision therapy. The eye alignment has to be perfect and if this is not achieved, the patient will be seeing double images. Your child can undergo surgery and have better eye appearance.
Do you have a question about strabismus surgery? Click here to see ophthalmology and adult strabismus expert Dr. Sami for an exam!