Sunday, August 26, 2012

My baby's eyes and strabismus

So, we have been on our "eye adventure" for 10 months. Amelia has strabismus, a condition where her eyes do not stay aligned all the time. Originally, hers floated mildly outward, called exotropia. We noticed this intermittently for most of her infancy, especially when she was very tired. We thought it would go away.

Last Fall, we decided to get it checked by a pediatric eye specialist. What he had to say shocked us for sure!

Surgery. Her condition was purely muscular; her vision was perfect. Surgery would move the eye muscles so the eyes could remain straight and forward in their normal, relaxed state. 80% success rate.

January - surgery #1. Eyes now crossed in dramatically.
March - surgery #2. Improved, but still turning inward.
On the schedule, surgery #3 in September.

On Friday morning, we consulted our second opinion doctor, someone we had visited prior to surgery #2. This time, his recommendation was NOT surgery. He feels like her eyes are mostly aligned at this point. He thinks corrective glasses may be able to fix what he says is now a focus issue, not a muscle condition. We will try the glasses for 8-9 weeks and see if she is responsive. If not, we have lost nothing but a few dollars and a couple months - surgery #3 will take place prior to Christmas.

Strabismus is such a roller coaster ride! Time will tell where Amelia's story goes.

There is a chance that bifocal lenses will improve her enough that they will not be forever. At this point, that is our ideal. But we know better than to get our hearts set on the best case scenario. Wait and see... we must wait and see.

Yesterday, we went glasses shopping! She is as adorable and sassy as ever.

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