Question

my son, aged 2 and 6 months has been diagnosed with Duan's syndrome in his right eye. Is there anything that we can do to correct this. The doctors basically say that it is something that he must live with. It is most evident when he is tired or trying to look to the left without moving his head. His right eye will virtually dissapear into his nose. Does raiki help or have you anyother suggestions?
Thanks already

(annabel konig)

Answer:

Dear Annabel,

In the most common form of Duane syndrome, the nerve that should have grown, before birth, into the muscle pulling the left eye leftward, has partially grown into the muscle pulling the eye rightward, so that the patient cannot look leftward with the left eye, and the eye is pulled back into the orbit on attempted tight gaze. In right gaze most patients, probably including your daughter, have straight eyes. these children are operated only when the resulting head turn gets very large. Then, classically, the muscle pulling the left eye rightward is lengthened. We have switched to operating all four horizontal eye muscles of both eyes, however, to the effect that the region where the eyes are straight is shifted from right gaze to gaze ahead. It 's more work, but results are slightly better.

Yours truly,

(Herb Simonsz, MD, PhD)

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