I have double vision - can you help?

[Silly Billy]

Hi there.

I am 17 years old, and I have double vision of about four diopters (I think). The problem apparently can be solved through prisms in the eyeglasses (which I currently have, but not enough). Here's the problem though: I play soccer and rely on contact lenses to do so. Prism can't be included in contacts, so I'm forced to play with bad/annoying vision.

Do you guys know of any solutions? I'm currently leaning toward surgery and have gotten the opinion of two eye specialists. One said the chance of success would be 85-90%; the other said it would be 25%. What is the worst that could happen in a "failed" surgery, an overcorrection of the double vision?

Also, apparently double vision sometimes corrects itself. How soon would that come about?

Please help me out. I really appreciate it.

[For-Life]

What about wearing a sports goggle?

[optisouth]

What caused the double vision? Head injury? Strabismus? If it is from Strabismus, the best advice I can give you is to make sure you have your surgery done by a Pediatric Ophthalmologist who comes recommended in your area. Pediatric Ophthalmologists "specialize" in Strabismus (Misalignment of the eyes). They had to do an extra 1 year of fellowship in this area, on top of the 13 years of school they already have. "General" Ophthalmologists do not. This surgery is one of the MOST common of the Pediatric Ophthalmologists, therefore, they become very good at the surgery. You said you went to 2 specialist, is that what they were?

[Joann Raytar]

Silly Billy said:

...

I'm currently leaning toward surgery and have gotten the opinion of two eye specialists. One said the chance of success would be 85-90%; the other said it would be 25%. What is the worst that could happen in a "failed" surgery, an overcorrection of the double vision?

Also, apparently double vision sometimes corrects itself. How soon would that come about?

Sorry Silly Billy,

We cannot offer medical advice available only through your Doctor.

Perhaps you should consult with one of the first specialists more or try a third local opinion.

[Silly Billy]

- I'd prefer not to wear a sports goggle.

- I think they were pediatric.

- I just want to know what are the risks of such a surgery. I'm not asking for a percentage of success.

Thanks.

[chip anderson]

Silly Billy;
The main risks are: Will come out over or under corrected and possibly need some prism. You may possibly have more strabismus after surgery than before (very unlikely). As with all surgery you could have an infection that could have mild to disasterous consequences (you can die from a mole removal if God's ready).
I would advise have the surgery but make very sure that you get a good surgeon with lots of experience in this operation.

Chip

[Joann Raytar]

Silly Billy said:
- I just want to know what are the risks of such a surgery. I'm not asking for a percentage of success.

We don't know your medical history and haven't seen you in person so we cannot give you any idea about the risks involved in your particular situation.

Again, this is medical advice and you would be best served by asking a local doctor.

[LaurieC]

Kudos to you for seeking more information. However, whatever level of expertise any respondant on this board would have..........
it would not be in any way a substitute for hands on care, evaluation, diagnosis, etc. But I do hope you will let us know the outcome and thanks for participating in our forums!:)

[keithbenjamin]

I won’t offer any medical advice, but I will share with you my experience. I have strabismus. I first had surgery when I was two years old to correct a severe inward turning. The surgery was a success; in that I’m not blind in one eye, but it didn’t align the eyes enough so they could fuse (remember this was 32 years ago). As time went on my brain learned to adapt the double vision by essentially shutting one eye off while using the other. At this point even prism wouldn’t help my eyes to fuse. In addition to the strabismus, I’m near-sighted in one eye and far-sighted in the other. Consequently, I ended up using one eye for near and one eye for far. I learned to live with it (begrudgingly) and took the occasional ribbing in school. It wasn’t until a few years ago, when I was seeing and excellent ophthalmologist, that I started to inquire about my options.

I was told that I could have surgery, but because of my adaptation, the surgery would be largely reconstructive and still probably wouldn’t result in the eyes fusing. I decided to look into it further and as Optisouth suggested, I was referred to very good pediatric ophthalmologist. I was told about the risks:

- The eyes may not align perfectly after the surgery.
- If aligned, the eyes may overtime grow out of alignment.
- Additional surgeries may be required to achieve alignment.
- If a muscle is lost during surgery behind the eye, the eye is lost.
- As with any surgery/general anesthetic …death is also a possibility.

I was also told that the success rate is about 80% and the particular group I was seeing had never seen a eye lost as a result of the surgery.

I decided to go ahead with the surgery, and as it turned out eye loss ended up being more of a risk for me because my muscles were so tight, but you don’t know this until it’s too late. Fortunately, everything tuned out great. The alignment isn’t perfect, but it’s very close. No one would ever know I have strabismus. Almost three years later, my eyes do not fuse, but are still aligned and I’m very happy I had the surgery.

There is a wealth of information online:

http://www.google.com/search?sourcei...bismus+surgery

Feel free to email me if you have any questions about my experience.

Keith

[Deepak]

This is manly opticians foruim,i advise you post your question in doctors forum.
Did ger MRI done?