Your child's eye surgeon may ask for:

• A complete medical history and physical exam of your child before the procedure
• Orthoptic measurements (eye movement measurements)

Always tell your child's doctor or nurse:

• What drugs your child is taking
• Include any drugs, herbs, or vitamins you bought without a prescription
• About any allergies your child may have to any medicines, latex, tape, or soaps or skin cleaners

During the days before the surgery:

• About 10 days before the surgery, you may be asked to stop giving your child aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), warfarin (Coumadin), and any other drugs that make it hard for blood to clot.
• Ask your child's doctor which drugs your child should still take on the day of the surgery.

On the day of the surgery:

• Your child will usually be asked not to drink or eat anything for several hours before the surgery.
• Give your child any drugs your doctor told you to give your child with a small sip of water.
• Your child's doctor or nurse will tell you when to arrive for the surgery.
• The doctor will make sure your child is healthy enough for surgery and does not have any signs of illness. If your child is ill, the surgery may be delayed.

This surgery is usually done on an outpatient basis. The eyes are usually straight right after surgery.

While recovering from the anesthesia and in the first few days after surgery, your child should avoid rubbing the eyes. Your surgeon will show you how to prevent rubbing.

After a few hours of recovery, the child may go home. You should have a follow-up appointment with the eye surgeon 1 to 2 weeks after the surgery.

You will probably need to put drops or ointment in the child's eyes to prevent infection.

Eye muscle surgery does not fix the poor vision of a lazy (amblyopic) eye. The child may have to wear glasses or a patch.

In general, the younger a child is when the operation is performed, the better the result. Your child's eye should look normal a few weeks after the surgery.

Images

Walleyes

Before and after strabismus repair

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Review Date: 08/09/2010
Reviewed By: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Medical Director, MEDEX Northwest Division of Physician Assistant Studies, Unviersity of Washington, School of Medicine; and Franklin W. Lusby, MD, Ophthalmologist, Lusby Vision Institute, La Jolla, California. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)