Strabismus usually can be fixed when found and treated early. If it’s not treated, the brain eventually will ignore the visual images of the weaker eye. This change — called amblyopia, or “lazy eye” — can make vision blurry, cause double vision, and harm a child’s depth perception (seeing in 3D). These problems can become permanent if they’re not treated.
Kids can be born with strabismus or develop it in childhood. Often, it’s caused by a problem with the muscles that move the eyes, and can run in families.
Most kids with strabismus are diagnosed when they’re between 1 and 4 years old. Rarely, a child might develop strabismus after age 6. If this happens, it’s important for the child to see a doctor right away to rule out other conditions.
The earlier strabismus is treated, the better. That’s because key connections between a child’s eyes and brain form by about 8 years old.
If strabismus is treated early, your child will have a better chance to use his or her eyes together to develop binocular vision and depth perception.
Eye muscle surgery is typically needed to straighten the eyes and prevent vision loss when other interventions don't work. The surgery involves detaching the muscle or muscles that is causing misalignment and reattaching it or them to a new spot.
It may be hard to believe that a child would sit still for the adjustment needed to be done, but our surgical and anesthesia teams perform these adjustments routinely and know how to help a child stay calm and cooperative throughout the process.
If a child is too young or too fearful to cooperate for adjustment, the procedure can be completed with a brief secondary anesthetic in the recovery room without needing to return for surgery.
