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Question

I had infantile strabismus which was horizontally corrected with surgery when I was 12 1/2 years old. After surgery I did regular eye exercises for several months. The vertical was corrected with prisms in my lenses. (My vision is also poor.)
Since that time I have had a series of eye doctors in various towns. Sometimes they have removed the prisms in my prescription, which eventually I would figure out was the reason for many symptoms. Then, I would find someone else and have the prisms put back in. Always, since the sugery, I have had double vision when I take off my glasses. I am 51 years old now and am wondering if by now there is something more that can be done for my eyes to correct the double vision which the surgery did not fix. Currently I go to just an optometrist. Would going to an opthalmologist make any difference in my case? What new advances in science should I be aware of today? Thank you for your time and advice.

(Dawn Dell)

Answer:

Dear Dawn,

From the information supplied, I gather that most likely you were operated for a convergent squint at age 12 and developed a vertical squint at that point. This was treated by glasses with a vertical prism. Although, with glasses, you do not have complaints, you wonder whether something else can be done. I advise you to consult an ophthalmologist that has extensive experience in treating strabismus. The chance that surgery can be done is not all that large, but if so, life would get a littlebit easier for you.

(Herb Simonsz, MD, PhD)

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