![]() |
lazy eye operation
has anyone here (or their children) had the an operation to correct a lazy eye (squint)? my son has been offered it and i am not sure whether to go for it as i have been told it is puely cosmetic and i am against cosmetic surgery for children... but if he doesnt have it soon it will be too late he is 6 now and they advise that they have it before they start school but its only just been offered. We have tried the patch and eye excercises but it is getting worse and is on both eyes.. he already wears glasses and will still need to either way... any one any input/advice? thanx
|
Re: lazt eye operation
do you mean lazy eye emamum23? if so i would think its worth having it, reason being kids can really take the mick at school.;)
|
Re: lazy eye operation
but that would mean having it for cosmetic reasons and i dont think someone so young should have that, there are always risks in surgery..
|
Re: lazy eye operation
I think you should let him have it done , as you say it is getting worse. I don't think it should be classed as cosmetic surgery either, to me it is surgery that is needed.
|
Re: lazy eye operation
I had the operation at Blackburn Infirmary when I was eight years old. I'd also had the plaster on the specs routine and had to make two rabbits into one whilst staring into a machine. Even though I feel mine 'wander' when I'm tired, I'm so glad that my parents elected for treatment.
I remember the teasing at school and also all the photos of me with one eye stuck in the corner. It didn't happen to my children but I would have jumped at the chance of an operation for them if it had. |
Re: lazy eye operation
agree with bernie its necessary not cosmetic, also june has confirmed the point about being teased at school, think very carefully school can be hard enough without extra pressure.:);)
|
Re: lazy eye operation
My cousin had lazy eye, doesnt take long at all and now he's fine.
|
Re: lazy eye operation
One chap once said to me 'Are you looking at me or him behind me?'. That has stayed with me for all those years.
Sorry to go on but I'm sure your son's confidence will grow when he can look folk in the eye without being concerned about what his are doing. |
Re: lazy eye operation
I would get it done if it was one of my children, emamum23.
|
Re: lazy eye operation
I would recommend that you let him have the surgery. It may seem trivial and unnecessary to you but if other kids make his life a misery at school because of it that will affect his school work and everything. Kids can be bad enough to others just for wearing glasses.
|
Re: lazy eye operation
Gotta' ask the question of yourself : Will he thank you later for having it put right, or berate you for not allowing it ?
If it were my son, would not hesitate and go ahead.. what a difference it will make to him. Cosmetic !!! Rubbish, this is all about self-esteem,not being an odd one out and confidence for the rest of his life. |
Re: lazy eye operation
Yes do go ahead with it. He won't thank you for not doing it if you leave it and he grows up with a squint. I don't think it's a cosmetic operation, as such, it's necessary for his self-confidence and may improve his sight too.
|
Re: lazy eye operation
A member of my family didn't have the op as a child and couldn't wait to have it as an adult even though it wasn't as easy to do by then. He'd had a miserable childhood and not just cosmetic but he'd also had headaches and been unable to concentrate for long to read or write. He was also the butt of jokes and teasing by other kids at school. I cannot understand why his parents put him through that when it could so easily have been avoided and he could have had a happier childhood.
|
Re: lazy eye operation
Quote:
|
Re: lazy eye operation
Book the child in ema. My daughter had this as a child, luckily patches and eye exercises sorted it out. Had that not worked and the alternative was an operation, I would not have hesitated.
|
Re: lazy eye operation
yes i agree, you should let him have the operation , my cousin did some 40odd yrs ago, it was awful when you spoke to him & you didn't know if he was looking at you or something else, your son will thank you im sure.
|
Re: lazy eye operation
i put the question in because the hospital told me it was cosmetic and wouldnt affect his eye sight at all, every surgery comes with risks and the op involves knocking him out and cutting into the muscles in his eyes and tightening them up. he can read better than most children his age and it has not affected his development at all.. i only wanted the opinion of other people and possibly the experience of someone who had been in my position.. i am his mum and i am scared.. and i was hoping that the other accyweb members could make me feel better about the decision.. i know that i am me and my son is different but i am allegic to anything stronger than a paracetamol and i am worried about affects of the anasthetic. i know it might sound stupid but i am his mum and its my job to worry about him..
|
Re: lazy eye operation
Oh Em we all worry about our kids even when they have grown up, don't think anybody was berating you far from it. June has told you she had the operation as a child and is glad she did. I think your concerns go a bit deeper with you having allergy problems so my advice to you is speak to your doctor or someone before making the decision.
|
Re: lazy eye operation
Yes, so sorry Emamum, very easy for people not emotionally involved to see things in black and white, isn't it.
|
Re: lazy eye operation
In some ways though Latex, thats the whole point of asking Qs like this in a forum like this where you already have a feeling of knowing that people will give you an answer that isn't tainted by the emotions that are affecting you .
Yes its black and white to us and I think that is one of teh greatest parts of our answer. We make it without teh worry and heartache that emamum is having bouncing round her head. Go for it Emamum. The Hospitals are very good now especially with children. A friend of mine suffered and was teased etc terribly. |
Re: lazy eye operation
If a child of mine wanted a purely cosmetic op to change the shape of their nose, ears etc then I would be against it because I'd feel it was unnecessary - but if a child of mine was disfigured and an op could change that then I would go for it. Those are two opposite ends of the spectrum.
If correcting a lazy eye was all that insignificant why would the NHS bother trying? The fact that they do indicates to me that they regard it as quite important to the child's quality of life. In spite of what you were told I don't think most lay people would regard this lazy eye op as purely cosmetic because not having it will affect your son's childhood. No operation is totally without possible danger but this really is a simple op. It might sound dramatic cutting into a muscle but that needs to be done because what is happening is that the muscle at one side is stronger than the other side and that is why the eye is pulled over to the side. It sounds a little like you have already decided not to let him have the op and that you were looking for people to tell you that you've done the right thing. I can understand your worries as a mother. I've had plenty of times when I've been worried about my kids but I think it would help if you talked over your worries with the hospital anaesthetist who will know far more about any possible risks involved than any of us do. |
Re: lazy eye operation
My grandson had it done and I would say go for it, wouldn't even hesitate, made such a difference to his quality of life, no more name calling etc.
|
Re: lazy eye operation
I have told the hospital that i will go ahead with the surgery as it gives me time to think about it before its done. if i said no straight away then i wouldnt be able to change my mind.. i dont know what to do... my sister didnt have the surgery because her mum (my dads ex-wife) was also told it was cosmetic.
|
Re: lazy eye operation
It is cosmetic in as much as it isn't life saving but there's cosmetic and cosmetic if you know what I mean. Changeing some feature because you fancy a different look is, in my opinion, a pointless waste but correcting a defect is a different kettle of fish.
Did your sister ever have the op or does she still have a lazy eye? How does she feel about it? Would she rather it had been done? |
Re: lazy eye operation
she didnt have the op. she has special needs that affect her balance and development etc.. she doesnt really say much about it and she isnt bullied for it either
|
Re: lazy eye operation
Has your son ever said anything about it himself?
|
Re: lazy eye operation
The op maybe cosmetic at the moment while hes young but maybe when he gets older they will be able to do something for his eyesight they are working things out all the time now it wasnt that long ago that they made the lazer surgery, i dont know what is wrong with his eyes but my daughter who is 8 now has very bad eyes she has (not sure how to spell it!) astygmatism and even with her glasses which are a high prescription when she is 17 her eyesight will be below the driving standard, she doesnt like to wear glasses and even more the thought that she will have to wear them forever contacts wont correct her eyes, if there was an op she could have so that she could wear contacts instead of glasses then i would let her have it even though it would be cosmetic and wouldnt change the fact that she would still need the aid of glasses/contacts.
I dont know if that makes sense but i know what i mean! lol What im saying is what you do now might help him in the future and theres the fact that if he gets it done now he has less chance of remembering it later when he gets older, it might be more traumatic for him when hes older if he was to choose to get it done for himself. But at the end of the day we can only give an opinion the decision is yours, i wish you all the luck. x |
Re: lazy eye operation
he doesnt understand
|
Re: lazy eye operation
I'm puzzled that at 6 years old he doesn't understand that he has a lazy eye?
|
Re: lazy eye operation
he knows that his eyes dont move together but since he has always had it, its normal to him.
|
Re: lazy eye operation
Has no-one ever teased him or made fun of him about it? That could happen when he's at school. Kids can be awfully cruel.
I'm a bit puzzled that he's 6 and hasn't started school yet. Mine both started in reception class when they were 4. |
Re: lazy eye operation
he has started school, he is in his second year....
|
Re: lazy eye operation
Quote:
|
Re: lazy eye operation
Em I would really think carefully about the reasons you don't want him to have this done. As you say he is only six but as he gets older he may not thank you for not having it done. Not trying to alarm you but really think that it will be something that is thrown out at him some time in the future. Kids really are cruel so please consider having it done.
|
Re: lazy eye operation
Hi emamum
I had the operation done at a similar age when I was at primary school. Unfortunately, for me, the operation was not followed up by glasses and I still have problems. At primary school, teasing was not a problem. At secondary school, it was a nightmare! Have the specialists mentioned when your eyes are fully developed? Don't quote me, but by the time you reach 8 or 9 years, they stay as they are and won't change much. That's what I have been told, because I can not see out of my 'bad' eye properly, and there is now no way of rectifying it. Children are so resilient. My nephew (age 5) has problems with his hearing and has had several operations. Within an hour of being home after an operation, he is running around like nothing has happened. My advice is do not hesitate for one second, and proceed with the operation. I am now 33 and wish that things could be different for me. |
Re: lazy eye operation
thankyou... that is exactly what i was hoping for, i am pretty sure we are going ahead with the surgery. I am scared, i would appeciate if you could share any experience of the actual operation so that i know what to prepare him for. thankyou
|
Re: lazy eye operation
I have sent you a personal message.
|
Re: lazy eye operation
Quote:
|
Re: lazy eye operation
After reading the post by faoai and the pm sent.. i now know more than i did when i started the thread.. i would do anything for my son, but wouldnt put him through any unecessary stress (of what i was informed was cosmetic surgery). i now know what he will get from the surgery and what will (potentially) happen if he doesnt and that helps me make an informed decision about the surgery that he will be having.
These are the times i wish i wasnt a single parent.... |
Re: lazy eye operation
my Ciara (niece) who is only 4 has been told she may need to have it done, but they have tried her with glasses first
|
Re: lazy eye operation
He has had glasses for 3 years and has had patches and tried eye excercises and the squints are getting worse.....
|
Re: lazy eye operation
Quote:
I can empathise with that. When my first husband died there were times I wished I had another adult to discuss things with about the kids. It's so much easier to make a decision when you have someone to talk it over with and bounce ideas off isn't it? |
Re: lazy eye operation
you have to realise that a operation might not work the first time, its trial and error, they may need 1 or 2 operations or maybe 3 to get it right.
|
Re: lazy eye operation
I had the op on my left eye when 8, and that was 43 years ago when surgery wasn't as good as today, had no problems with the op - glad I had it, it cured it for 98% of the time ( has a little wander now and then .... lol)
Didn't have glasses after and still don't need em yet and I'm 51 (yes and have had eye tests and work in printing) - let him have the op he'll thank you for it one day |
Re: lazy eye operation
hello there,i would like to tell you that i suffard wit a lazzy eye when i was a young boy,they took me to the eye place in manchester and they put drop,s in it and after some time they made me ware a eye pacth but it never went right but now they have diffrent thig,s now so don,t be scaired try the lazzer and good luck .
|
Re: lazy eye operation
I had this operation done when i was 4 yrs old many moons ago and it didnt make any difference to me at all . i still have a problem to this day . years later one of my children had the same prob as me with his eye only worse . we had him on an eye patch which improved his actual vision , then was offered the op . I did go ahead with it but god i wish i hadnt . His eyesight deteriorated and the agony he went through after the op were just horrible .
they did offer him the op after that again but i declined because no way could i have seen my child go through all that agony again for such a poor outcome . .. |
Re: lazy eye operation
My sister has struggled with this all of her 49 years. I asked her opinion in this. Here's is her thoughts:
it IS a problem that follows you forever and is so easy to fix as a child rather than as an adult esp now a days...how many surgeries did i have and none of them worked....even now, my eyes are so screwed up that he would have to operate on both of them for it to be completely healed........ but the main point i want to make is that it is NOT merely cosmetic....there is a process with the fusion of the image that, for me, does not "work" but if my eyes had been corrected earlier, my brain may have learned how to do it........... basically, for me, i only use one eye....so early surgery would have given me depth perception etc...my goodness...often wonder what playing sports WITH depth perception could have done for me....i dont know what it is...i cannot "do" 3-D movies with those glasses bc my eyes do not fuse the image etc....etc.. and maybe not all cross eyes are like mine.....maybe it IS cosmetic...in my case it was completely not... but, again, even if just cosmetic, it has made the WORLD of difference even for me as a 45 year old...finally for the first tiem in my life (when i am not tired) i can look people in the eye and they actually KNOW i am looking at them....it is sooooooo freeing....i think i never worked on keeping eye contact with people bc i was so tired of people asking me who i was looking at... it has helped tremendously in school - teaching........ |
Re: lazy eye operation
hi, some ppl asked me to keep them updated.... well.... we went to the hospital today for his appointment with the consulatant and he said it is still getting worse, as we have tried everything else the only option left is the op, so he is now on the list... they will send a letter through for the date of the op... thanx to everyone that posted their opinions and experience..
|
Re: lazy eye operation
Sure your doing the right thing, it sounds like the only option.
|
Re: lazy eye operation
best wishes to yer lad ema, agree with bernie.:)
|
Re: lazy eye operation
Quote:
mrs mohan? my son had the op , but it aint cured him:(, the only differnce is he doesnt now squint with his glasses on, but take em off and ------->it goes in:( |
Re: lazy eye operation
erm.... dunno, they didnt say, his consultant is mr vijaykumar...
|
Re: lazy eye operation
Would you still let him have the op knowing what you know now Panther?
|
Re: lazy eye operation
Quote:
other than that he was fine....no blackeyes, ya couldnt even tell he had has the op to be honest;) |
Re: lazy eye operation
Quote:
|
Re: lazy eye operation
Got to be better if he doesn't squint all the time.
|
Re: lazy eye operation
Quote:
my son hated them too, ..but theses drops didnt bother him, there like an antibiotic so his eyes dont get infected;) |
Re: lazy eye operation
Hope it works for your lad emma .
im not hopeful but having said that i am going back some yrs .. I really do wish him all the best love , let us know how he goes .will ya .. |
Re: lazy eye operation
Quote:
Good luck to your lad with the op. |
Re: lazy eye operation
thought i would update this.... Tyler is booked in for the op on the 11th of march at Blackburn ... we have to be there for 8am!
|
Re: lazy eye operation
Hope everything goes well, will he have to stay in overnight or will he be a day patient?
|
Re: lazy eye operation
Oh the poor thing i really feel for him (and for you), but it will be worth it in the end. Don't forget to let us know how it goes.
|
Re: lazy eye operation
Quote:
it is very boring waiting especially for the parent, but the kids seem ok they have things to play with:rolleyes:......but it does drag!!! good luck;) lets know how he went on! p.s... if you want to know anything else about it just ask:D |
Re: lazy eye operation
Hope everything goes as planned Emma.
|
Re: lazy eye operation
They get you there nice and early for all the pre-op stuff, taking a blood sample and putting the patches on for the iv line for anaesthetic. He will be fine, it's the adults that are more nervous !
|
Re: lazy eye operation
how will he be after the op? cos we are gunna have to get the bus home, will he have a patch over the eye?will he need time off school? will they sedate me too cos i think i am gunna need it!
|
Re: lazy eye operation
If it's a full anaesthetic they won't let him out till he has had something to eat and kept it down. I would imagine there will be a patch on. can you not get someone to give you a lift home or get a taxi ? Less stressful for the both of you that way plus you wouldn't be worrying about what time he was coming out then. Kels had her op on both legs and we were back home for 4 pm the same day, complete with 2 plaster casts ! She was in theatre for nearly an hour and then slept for about half an hour back on the ward before the anaesthetic wore off.
|
Re: lazy eye operation
my son had the op, on both eyes! he didnt wear a patch or anything like that, he will have to have drops in his eyes and have at least a week ofF school, ..did they not tell you this?....anyway he wont be able to play out either because they wont want him to get an infection by playing outside, getting his hands grubby and then rubbing his eyes:rolleyes:.
he will probably be grumpy and tired apart from that he should be fine.....my son didnt even have any black eyes or swelling!, there was nowt there whatsoever, the only scary part was him seeing a bit of blood on his pillow, which was watery ...understandable due to the operation i suppose, also one more thing he will probably get a bit of matter in his eyes which you will have to clean, like ya would have done if they got conjuctivitis;) another thing,....try not to worry;) |
Re: lazy eye operation
My son had his eyes done with Mr Vijakumar. He's a brilliant consultant and cured my sons squints.
You will have to go for a pre op first, so that you can have a look around the childrens ward, and you can ask any questions you may have then (write them down lol) |
All times are GMT. The time now is 09:17. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.6.1
© 2003-2013 AccringtonWeb.com