Strabismus

Strabismus – General Information

Strabismus – Symptoms

Strabismus – Treatment

In treating Strabismus, there are three major treatment options, which can be applied differently depending on the severity of the condition, and can include orthiptics, vision therapy and eye surgery. Orthoptics therapy is generally characterized by muscle training programs applied by skilled doctors, also known as orthoptists and optometrists. The term of orthoptics dates from the 50s and means straightening of the eyes, and is usually performed as a cosmetic procedure to straighten the patient’s eyes. This kind of procedure only treats muscle problems regarding their strength not the neurological and visual motor dysfunctions, and that is why the second major treatment option is vision therapy. This type of procedure is an individualized, supervised, nonsurgical treatment trial, applied to correct the patient’s eyes, especially their movements and visual motor issues.

The visual therapy usually is applied following certain steps, to successfully treat Strabismus and can include eye alignment, eye teaming, eye focusing abilities, eye movements and visual processing. These procedures can also be applied to control the condition, in order to apply other treatment options. In most cases, doctors use a specialized computer and optical devices such as therapeutic lenses, prisms and filter to increase the eye’s visual motor skills and endurance. After most of the steps have been accomplished, the patient’s new visual skills are reinforced and are made automatic through repetition and integration with other motor and cognitive skills. There are more severe cases in which the vision therapy has to train and rehabilitate the patients eye brain connections involved in vision. By doing this, the doctor can treat the whole visual motor system in addition to the patient’s reflexive behavior, leading to a prolonged cure.

In treating Strabismus, a very important fact is the patient’s age, because older children are generally more cooperative, achieving greater benefits from the procedures. Another way to treat Strabismus is the surgical approach. Generally, the patient’s brain directs and controls the eyes and eye muscles, and is very important to know that eye surgery is not similar to brain surgery. The eye surgery consists in cutting and moving the patient’s eye muscles. That is why there are cases in which the procedure must be applied repeatedly, so that the patient’s eye muscles are always perfectly aligned. Sometimes, the surgical procedure is not applied for cosmetic reasons, but only for correcting any deviation. It is very important that before applying the surgical procedure, the doctor determines exactly if it is being recommended for cosmetic reasons only. It is also important for the patient to know for sure what are the benefits and risks of undergoing this procedure. After the surgery has been done, there are several medicines that can be administered to control the patient’s medical status and can include Phenytoin, Phenobarbital, Carbamazepine and Valproic acid. If the patient does not respond to the available treatment for Strabismus, he can develop serious complications that can threat his or her life.