Specialized Experts
Dr. Jalal Almosawi
CONSULTANT OPHTHALMIC SURGEON
Dr. Samer J. Bashir
CONSULTANT OPHTHALMIC SURGEON
Dr. Hajer Al Sawad
CONSULTANT OPHTHALMIC SURGEON
Dr. Ebtihal Al Baharna
CONSULTANT OPHTHALMIC SURGEON
Dr. Fatema AlMukhtar
CONSULTANT OPHTHALMIC SURGEON
Dr. Hawra Almahroos
GENERAL OPHTHALMIC SPECIALIST
Amblyopia
Also known as Lazy Eye. Amblyopia happens during the first years of life when normal vision is still developing. When one eye does not work as well as the other, the brain trains itself to depend on the good eye, this makes the weaker eye even worse. If left untreated the weaker eye could be permanently impaired.
Most commonly, Amblyopia is caused by:
uncorrected refractive errors. Other causes include eye misalignment (crossed eyes), droopy eyelid, cataract (lens opacity) and corneal scar.
Types of Treatment
Glasses
Patches
Surgery
The treatment of Amblyopia usually involves using glasses to help the child see better. Further treatment will depend on the cause, with the aim of stimulating the weaker eye and forcing the brain to use it. This can be achieved by covering the good eye using a patch or by using special eye drops to blur the vision in the better eye.
Treatment results depend on the age of the child, the initial level of impairment and the cooperation with treatment. For best results, treatment should be started as early as possible before the brain fully matures.
Surgery is the last resort if the treatment does not succeed or the child has severe crossed eyes.
Surgery
The treatment of Amblyopia usually involves using glasses to help the child see better. Further treatment will depend on the cause, with the aim of stimulating the weaker eye and forcing the brain to use it. This can be achieved by covering the good eye using a patch or by using special eye drops to blur the vision in the better eye. Treatment results depend on the age of the child, the initial level of impairment and the cooperation with treatment. For best results, treatment should be started as early as possible before the brain fully matures. Surgery is the last resort if the treatment does not succeed or the child has severe crossed eyes.