Baby Can't Open Her Eyes

When I was a baby I had this same condition. Although it was in the 70's my parents opted for the surgery. I was 18 months when I had the surgery done. I do not remember any of the pain or anything from it. I had no complications other then a tiny scar on my eyelids(which you can not see). I didn't have two surgeries done, I only had the one. I am happy and healthy at 29. I know this must be very scary for you as it was for my mom. Good Luck with your decision.

My son had surgery when he was very young too. We went to Vanderbilt and they were incredible. I couldn't recommend them more. The pediatric Anethesiologits were great and we had no problems. Jacob was up and moving less than two hours after surgery.

My daughter is now 6 months old and was born with Congenital Ptosis. She had surgery at 3 months. Your daughter should have been taken care of a lot earlier than this because it can effect her eye development. Haven, my daughter, was consistently overlooked by the doctor until I finally told them I wanted to see a specialist, of which I had to bring it up to him to look at her eyelids as well.

Haven had her eyelid surgery at the Emory Eye Clinic in Atlanta, Dr. Bernadino. He is great and did a great job. The surgery performed was Sling Eye surgery. They make three small incisions over the eyelids and some on the eyelid itself. Slide three silicone bands underneath the skin and attach it to her eyelid and her forehead muscles at the incisions. The doctor first pulls the eyelid open with the bands and then ties them.

I was afraid of the anesthia and my baby being placed under the knife at such a young age. I would not take it back in a heart beat. She immediately, the next day, started acting normal plus acting like she was introduced to a new world.

Haven will have these bands for the rest of her life. The scars are already almost gone. She has now taught her herself to close her eyes again.

One thing, does your daughter use her forehead and eyebrows to open her eyes at all? It makes the surgery more successful because when she opens her eyes after the surgery it opens her eyes even more.

Check out Congential Ptosis on the internet and learn about it. That is what I did.

Definitely look into corrective surgery.

Good luck and let me know how everything goes.

I would be happy to send you some pictures of my baby girl before and after the surgery if you send me your email.

L.

K., I can sympathize with your apprehension about putting your baby under anesthesia. However, may I recommend an excellent opthamologist in the Chattanooga area? Her name is Dr Molly Seal, and she performed eye surgery on my oldest daughter when she was just 12 months. She was thorough, caring, took time to answer my questions, and the surgery was performed at TC Thompson Children's Hospital. It was nothing but perfect, and the staff was awesome. I would personally seek an opthamologist for your daughter as soon as possible, because you do NOT want your daughter's visual learning ability to diminish because of ptosis.
Hope this helps!
V. P.

Dearest K., I have not experienced this at all. I have had 2 of my son to be operated on but not there eyes. K. just remember to call on God. What man can't do God can. Pray with out ceasing. He will hear you. Pray that God will heal her or that he will send you to the right Dr. that is a Christian man or woman. I am a Christian and God has healed me serveral time. Don't give up or get discouraged. I'll pray for you and your daughter. My God be with you and bless you and your family. Your email friend, E.

aweeee...

I dont personally have this problem but when my son was born he had 3, yes 3, different surgeries...all of them he was 'put to sleep'. They did a wonderful job on him, and there was no side effects. He was just hours old....

I would only advice making sure to get a second and if needed a third opinion to become more comfortable with that decision you need to make for your baby.

please keep us updated!

I sympathize! My daughter had to have some surgery on her achilles tendons when she was 4 months old, and had to be put under general anesthesia. I was terrified! They did a great job, though, and everything turned out well. Get a second opinion if you feel you need it (go with your instincts), but keep in mind that her eyes won't develop properly without light. And if you are going to Vanderbilt, (if I remember where Franklin is), they do fantastic work. I'll pray for you!

I realize you posted this back in october, but I am curios as to how Cloe is doing.
I know what you are going through, My 14 month old son was diagnosed with congential cataracts at 4 months old, IT TOOK THEM THAT LONG TO NOTICE!!!!!!!!! I was sooo scared, He had to immediately go in for surgery to have them removed, One week they did right eye and the next they did left eye. He has now been put to sleep 3 times and they did a wonderful job, he was a little sleepy afterwards but no problems. It is always dangerous for anyone to be put to sleep but It is also VERY dangerous for an infant not to be able to see. If they hadn't found Parrish's cataracts when they did he could have went blind. I'm not sure if they explained everything to you, surely they did, but While the brain is still developing, if it can't "see" an image for a long period of time it will start to block out everything and the child could go blind. The earlier you have whatever problem corrected the better your chances of the child having normal vision. Because it took them so long to find Parrish's, he has nystagmus and also his left eye is not a strong as his right, he has lazy eye and we have to patch his right eye to try and correct that problem. It has been soo hard and I still cry every day because I hate that he has to go through all of this. But the look on his face when he sees me walk through the door, meets someone new, or even sees the kitty walk by is priceless. I wouldn't change anything I've done, the surgery was our only choice for him to have sight and it has been worth it.

I hope Cloe is doing well and surgery works out for her, and I hope you enjoy that first look and smile as much as I did.

Hi, well my dear daughter doesnt have that, but i do know how it is to put a child under anethesia. Its terrifying but if its something to help her out in the long run, id do it....Just like we did with ours, we didnt know what she had near her spine and we went ahead and thankfully it was nothing but it is still upsetting no matter what type of surgery it is. Most dr's wont operate on really young infants unless its life threating....I would hold out as long as possible, but take in what the dr's have to say, they are the trained ones in this situation....Do what your gut tells you to do, it might be hard but trust your gut....good luck and best wishes

Oh Kristen,
I feel for you. I have no experience in this matter, but I want you know that you have my support. Maybe you may feel many different conflicting emotions, but try to remember that you can always turn to other mothers like us. Even if it's just to vent. Sometimes we spend ourselves out on our children, leaving nothing left for us. Try not to do that. Your baby needs you at your best. Good luck, and keep us posted.