Surgery to Repair a Lazy Eye

I had it done 10 years ago when I was 30. I am starting to notice it seems to be moving inward more lately so I wonder if I'll need to have it again. They basically just go in and cut the muscle to make it shorter/tighter.

My son had surgery to straighten his eye when he was a little over a year old. His good eye ( he had poor vision with the other eye and by 7/8 he was blind in the bad eye) was actually looking toward his nose. His head was facing his shoulder so he could see ahead of him. He has a line around the iris that unless your looking for it you don't notice. They shortened one muscle and tightened the other. They put him under for the surgery and he was out of surgery in under an hour. He was in no pain when he got out and we did have to keep it covered for about an hour or two just so he wouldn't rub it. We were back home that afternoon.

For him it worked great. Now 12 years later his eye is starting to shift again and they are watching him and if it gets worse they will be doing surgery again in the future.

Good luck with it!

Hmmm...I'm not sure what the difference is between the surgery for adults and the one for kids, but what I understand about the surgery for kids is that it's simple, routine, and outpatient. Just takes a few weeks to completely heal up and they're set. The eye(s) look pretty gnarly for a couple weeks, but they don't really hurt after the first day, and that's just discomfort. I would ask your doctor what the procedure is like exactly, what the healing time is, what the success rate of the procedure is, and if there are any other options to fix it besides surgery (though, if you ask a surgeon this, he/she's likely to tell you no.)

My understanding about lazy eyes is that eventually, the brain stops communicating with the eye that's turning in, and then you could end up blind in that eye. Surgery is scary, yes, but it seems like it would be worth it. Especially if you're self-conscious about how your eyes look and you're noticing a change in how they're working together after all these years of fighting your condition.

My daughter has Esotropia (which is a lazy eye that turns in) but we've corrected it by using glasses with a bifocal added and she has to do red/green visual therapy every day to remind her eyes how to work together with her brain. I don't know if red/green therapy is prescribed for adults as well, but that might be something else you look into if you really want to avoid surgery. It seems to have fixed the problem for us. We used to see her eye turn in and stick for hours on end. I haven't seen an eye turn at all in months.

Best of luck to you!
Hilary

I had the lazy eye corrective surgery back in the early 1970s, when I was about 7 and the surgery was new. The remaining 'laziness' is minimal and I have never needed it 'redone.' My mother had it done too at that same time, though she has no depth perception due to the age at which it was corrected. Am I right to understand that it isn't affecting your vision and you have had it for a long time? If so, you probably don't need to make a hasty decision. Unfortunately, I can't tell you anything about the recovery process, since I was pretty young... Good luck with the process!

My daughter has it right before or after (I can't quite remember her third birthday). We had it done to save her vision problems...and I know she might have to have it redone at a future date because she is not fully grown yet.

Her doctor here in San Antonio specializes in this area of eye surgery and is one of the few who is well known and respected in treating adults as well as children.

If you want to have it done...then go for it...my daughter's was out patient surgery, she spent the rest of the day in bed with an ice pack on her eyes...she was up and about the next day and wanted to go to pre-school, but I kept her home to be on the safe side. A couple of weeks of anti-biotic drops. She did great and her eyes were perfectly aligned right after surgery.

I would do it again in a heartbeat, and if it needs to be redone later, we will get it redone.

Ask about success rate with the surgery (there was a 20% chance of needing a redo right away with my daughter...it was good to know that going in)? Can in harm your current level of vision or improve it? How long will you be out of commission? Of course how much will it cost, if it will help your vision it might be covered by insurance other wise if it is purely cosmetic it probably won't be.

If you have any other questions PM me...good luck!!

My cousin has a lazy eye. She's had two surgeries to try to correct it (in high school), both unsuccessful. Her vision is fine.

Things have changed since she had it, but I would pay careful attention to how it's done, where incisions are made, and what you can realistically expect for your end result.
I'm wondering if you wouldn't be better off with a plastic surgeon doing it.

I don't mean to scare you, but my Mom has had 3, and needs another. finding a good doc is key, she has to wear special glasses and has a very hard time at night. I would say the younger you are the better, and do your research on th doc! Here in MI there is only one guy, so nowe she is driving down to Ohio to see a different guy!

We had a female intern with a "Lazy Eye."
She had the surgery.
It was a HUGE difference for her!

I think it's great that you have an appointment to discuss it with the opththalmoligist.

Good luck!