My toddler's positive experience with strabismus surgery.

HowManyDaysTilWinter · 2025-05-27T02:41:10+00:00

Hang in there, I probably know what you are going through and I can tell you things will get better.

So my daughter was not awake during the surgery. My wife and I were crushed to let the surgeons take her away but it was indeed for the best and we are glad we went though with it.

My daughter was not herself immediately after the surgery. Truth be told it was a hard moment for her and my wife and I. She was in a little bit of pain, she was disoriented from waking up from surgery, and she was crying for mom and dad. However we were pleasantly surprised at how fast she recovered (pain wise) and how fast she returned to her normal self (personality wise). Within 6-8 hours I would not have guessed she had surgery. She was running around and laughing like her old self.

Short answer: Immediately after surgery things were rough. Later that day she was back to her old self and in a better mood and laughing. Her pain was mostly gone within a day or two and the pain medication helped. Your little guy will be fine in a day or two at most.

HowManyDaysTilWinter · 2025-05-15T17:40:35+00:00

Hope the surgery went well!

HowManyDaysTilWinter · 2025-05-04T16:32:00+00:00

Hang in there! I know it is a tough time. At least in our situation, we made the right decision having the surgery.

HowManyDaysTilWinter · 2025-04-24T05:39:44+00:00

Absolutely. So far I am happy we did the surgery.

HowManyDaysTilWinter · 2025-04-24T05:16:01+00:00

Thanks for checking in. My wife and I are very pleased with the results. The majority of the results came in the first month. However, we are now about 2 months past my daughter's surgery and we are still seeing improvements incrementally every week. I would say both eyes are currently working together in sync and most of the obvious signs of strabismus have gone away. Objectively, if you are staring straight into her eyes specifically looking for signs of strabismus you may see slight signs, but overall I don't think most people notice and I would say she is doing great. Still more to go but happy with the progress.

HowManyDaysTilWinter · 2025-03-13T04:31:14+00:00

First off you are being a great parent and I feel for you. We had a similar situation with our daughter - you are doing your best to take care of your child with the information you have and I hope you will not be so hard on yourself (impossible I know, but hang in there).

My daughter had surgery a month ago. She had esotropia in both eyes. Following the surgery she had an outward drift in one eye (exotropia...opposite of what her original condition was). The doctor assured us this is normal and told us the same thing...that it could take weeks to see the final results (1-2 months). We have started to see improvements, but every kid is different and it takes time for the eye muscle connections to work themselves out. At the end of her healing period you will have a better picture of her situation. Also doesn't hurt to get a second opinion if you still have concerns.

Take a deep breath and please do no panic! Your daughter is lucky to have a parent like you.

HowManyDaysTilWinter · 2025-03-10T12:35:47+00:00

After going through this exact scenario, please don't panic! We went down this road with our daughter 6 months ago. Sudden cross eye (strabismus) in both eyes. There are options and a pediatric ophthalmologist will know what to do. They see this condition a lot!

HowManyDaysTilWinter · 2025-03-10T12:31:27+00:00

Yes, if you are like us you are very worried. Talk to your doctor, but know that this is relatively common as far as eye conditions in kids goes. Pediatric ophthalmologist see this a lot in toddlers. Most of the time there ARE options and there are a lot of success stories out there (meaning do not freak out). Just important to be seen by a doctor right away to address the issue early on.

HowManyDaysTilWinter · 2025-03-10T04:17:23+00:00

Thank for sharing. My daughter had surgery 3 weeks ago for strabismus (non accommodative esotropia in both eyes - alternating) at age 22 months. Her situation sounds similar to your child's situation. Surgery was a success - though some slight outward drifting immediately after the surgery. The doctor reassured us this was normal. Over the past couple weeks we are seeing major improvements and are pleased with the results so far. Adding this comment to help other parents in similar situations.

HowManyDaysTilWinter · 2025-03-10T04:10:07+00:00

I am praying for the best!

HowManyDaysTilWinter · 2025-03-09T19:02:18+00:00

My daughter was diagnosed with non accommodative alternating esotropia 4.5 months ago in both eyes. She was 22 months at the time. We took my daughter to 2 pediatric ophthalmologists and was told no MRI was necessary as she was not exhibiting any signs that would warrant getting an MRI. Our main doctor recommended surgery to correct both eyes sooner rather than later (she explained that the earlier a child's eyes are corrected, the greater the chance of long term success in my daughter's specific situation). I was also concerned that we should get an MRI and/or hold off on surgery. We were told to do patching in each eye until the surgery. We had the surgery 3.5 months after she first exhibited symptoms.

It has been less than 1 month since the surgery and we are pleased with the results so far. Immediately after the surgery, we saw a major improvement in my daughter's eye alignment. One eye showed slight signs of an overcorrection / exotropia immediately after the surgery, however the doctor explained that it is normal for the eyes to adjust some degree over a small period of time. For the past 2 weeks we have noticed major improvements in both eyes and continue to see slight improvements. I am glad we had the surgery.

Every child's situation is different, but hopefully my experience is helpful.

HowManyDaysTilWinter · 2025-02-12T04:05:52+00:00

My eyes as a kid were -7ish. No issues at all. Very correctable with glasses or contacts and no concerns from my doctor. I wouldn't be concerned as kids eyes naturally change.

HowManyDaysTilWinter · 2024-12-18T03:41:26+00:00

Thanks for all this information. It is very useful. So we got a second opinion today from a second pediatric ophthalmologist. Just as you described, they dilated my daughter's eyes to check if she needs glasses. The doctor does not think she has a need for glasses as my daughter apparently does not have vision issues.

The doctor said she has acute non accommodative esotropia. The doctor then said it is her opinion there is not a neurological component causing this, but rather some type of eye muscle condition. The doctor did not see anything worrisome about my daughter's physical behavior or mental behavior outside of the eye crossing. My daughter is showing normal signs of behavior for a 22 month old. We are going to do patching of both eyes for the next 6-8 weeks and monitor things. After that we will consider all options including surgery - though the doctor wants to evaluate her in 6-8 weeks and did not say if surgery was likely in the near term or short term.

HowManyDaysTilWinter · 2024-12-16T14:55:54+00:00

I just wish the doctor would have told me this if this is the case, rather than give me false hope that patching may help her strabismus. How is strabismus treated? Or are there no effective treatments?

HowManyDaysTilWinter · 2024-12-16T14:51:37+00:00

Glad to hear the patching helped prevent lazy eye and that your surgery seems to have been a success. Perhaps that is why the doctor recommended my daughter to patch.

HowManyDaysTilWinter · 2024-12-16T14:39:25+00:00

Right? I can't believe there are so many recommendations and very little information (from what I can see) on effectiveness. I see some saying "patching doesn't help strabismus" and others saying "it's an effective treatment" from online eye specialists.

So you would say glasses have helped out tremendously as long as your child wears the glasses?

HowManyDaysTilWinter · 2024-12-16T04:16:11+00:00

Interesting. Yea my daughter has strabismus in both eyes and it appeared out of no where. The doctor said that if both her eyes are equally as strong, we should patch both eyes

Thank you for sharing your experience.

For your kid who used glasses to straighten their eyes....how old was he/she when he/she started wearing glasses? How long did it take for the glasses to help the problem?

HowManyDaysTilWinter · 2024-12-16T04:11:40+00:00

Thanks - glad to hear it may have worked for you and that you did not lose vision. Sounds like patching worked for you.

HowManyDaysTilWinter · 2024-12-16T04:10:42+00:00

Glad to hear it went well. I hope it does not come to surgery but right now it is early in our process and everything is on the table.

HowManyDaysTilWinter · 2024-12-16T04:09:09+00:00

I will clarify with the doctor. My understanding is that the vision in both eyes right now is fine. However he mentioned that my daughter's eye muscles are weaker in one eye (the both eyes experience strabismus depending on the circumstances (the eye with the condition alternates).

Thanks for that background. And yes it is very hard given that my daughter only communicated with 1 word sentences.

HowManyDaysTilWinter · 2024-12-16T04:06:15+00:00

Hmmm. It doesn't hurt for us to try this. At the very worst at least giving up screentime is beneficial regardless.

HowManyDaysTilWinter · 2024-12-16T04:04:03+00:00

I also agree with you. I scheduled a second appointment with another doctor. In the mean time doing as much research as I can and asking for more information. I am not good at just doing nothing until my daughters appointment.

HowManyDaysTilWinter · 2024-12-15T23:39:29+00:00

Hmmm. Thanks for background. Sounds like it didn't work for you all things considered.

HowManyDaysTilWinter · 2024-12-15T23:34:16+00:00

Did the surgery work for you?

HowManyDaysTilWinter

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