Strabismus means that both eyes do not look at the same thing at the same time. One eye may look straight ahead while the other eye looks in another direction. It is sometimes called "cross-eye" or "walleye." Surgery can fix this problem.
Your child will be asleep during the surgery. The doctor makes a cut over the white part of the eye to find the muscles that need to be fixed. The cut is called an incision. Then the doctor loosens or tightens the eye muscles and uses small stitches to hold the muscles in their new position. These small stitches are called sutures.
Most children go home after they wake up. The sutures in the eye don't need to be removed. They will dissolve in a few weeks.
Surgery can be stressful for both your child and you. This information will help you understand what you can expect. And it will help you safely prepare for your child's surgery.
Call your doctor now or seek immediate medical care if:
Watch closely for any changes in your child's health, and be sure to contact your doctor if:
Your child had surgery to fix an eye problem called strabismus. The doctor loosened or tightened eye muscles and used small stitches to hold the muscles in their new position.
On the first day after surgery, you may notice some pink or reddish tears coming from your child's eye. The eye may be red for a week or more after surgery.
Your child may have some mild pain and swelling around the eye. But the pain and swelling should go away after a few days. Your child should be able to do most of their usual activities in a day or two. Make sure that your child goes to all follow-up visits so the doctor can be sure that the surgery fixed the eye.
Surgery to treat strabismus changes the position of the eye muscles to adjust the position of the eye. After surgery, both eyes will be able to focus on the same point at the same time.
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