Squint is a condition of malaligned eye muscles leading to angular changes in the movement of eyeballs. This further causes poor vision, difficulty to focus in one direction, and painful ocular muscles. People may also experience double vision and abnormal head position. Squint or strabismus normally occurs in children just after birth. However, it can occur at any age. Early diagnosis and timely treatment can prevent visibility defects in later stages of life.
Types of Squint Surgery Treatment India
Types of Squint
Squint or strabismus can be classified as follows. Based on the direction of the eye movement, squint is of the following types:
01. Eye turning upwards - Hypertropia
02. Eye turning downwards - Hypotropia
03. Eye turning inwards - Esotropia
04. Eye turning outwards - Exotropia
Squint can also be categorized into a latent and manifest squint:
01. Latent Squint - Latent squint is the one where a person has increased chances of having squint but is kept in control by the binocular vision or fusion mechanism of the eyes. This means both eyes focus on the same object at the same time. If the binocular vision of the eyes stops working or is weakened due to any medical condition, the latent squint may turn into the manifest squint.
02. Manifest squint - Manifest squint can be of comitant or incomitant types
2.1. Comitant Squint means there is no hindrance or limitation in the movement of eyes and the extent of deviation is constant in all directions.
2.2. Incomitant squint means the eye movement is limited and the extent of deviation is different in different directions of vision.
Squint Eye Treatment
Before moving on to the different treatment options available, lets find out why is it important to get it treated on time. If squint is not treated in children above the age of 3 months, it may lead to the following complications:
01. Persistent Blurred Vision
02. Persistent Double Vision
03. Lazy Eye - the brain does not respond to the signals received from the affected eye
04. Low Self Confidence
Find out below the common ways to treat strabismus
01. Eyeglasses - If the squint is caused by changes in eyesight like long-sightedness, glasses can be a treatment of choice.
02. Eye Exercises - To improve the function of muscles that control eye movement.
03. Botox Injections in the Eye Muscles - This is done to relax the eye muscles and help the eyes to align better. The effect lasts for 3 months.
04. Eye Patch - This is applied to the normal eye to help the affected eye work in normal alignment.
05. Squint Surgery - The surgery involves moving or tightening of the eye muscles that control eye movement. Surgery is recommended if other methods do not work.
Squint Correction Surgery
Squint correction surgery involves the process of changing the position of eye muscles that control eye movement such that both eyes are able to focus on the same point at the same time. Let us discuss the surgery in detail in the following three phases:
Before the Surgery
01. The patients need to go through a detailed medical evaluation to check that they are fit for the surgery. At this time, one can clear the doubts regarding the surgery.
02. You will be asked to stop eating or drinking for some time before the surgery.
03. You will also require to bring someone to accompany you to the hospital who can drop you home back.
During the Surgery
Squint surgery is mostly done under general anesthesia. It takes nearly one hour to complete the surgery. You can go home on the same day after the effect of anesthesia is gone. The doctors follow the steps that are given below during the surgery,
01. The eyelids are opened and held apart with the help of a lid speculum.
02. A section of the muscle which is connected to the eye is separated and shifted to a new position where the eyes can point in the same direction.
03. After confirming that everything is fine, these muscles are sutured in the new position.
04. The sutures are dissolvable and you do not have to get them removed after the surgery.
After the Surgery
01. After the surgery, the patients are kept under observation until the effect of anaesthesia goes away.
02. In most cases, the patients are sent home on the same day.
03. An eye pad is placed over the treated eye which can be removed the next day.
04. You may experience pain or soreness in the eyes for some days after the surgery.
05. The doctor will prescribe certain pain killers and eye drops, which you need to take as advised.
Symptoms
You might experience the following symptoms for some days after the surgery. However, they will subside on their own after a few days of the surgery. The symptoms include:
01. Pain in the Eye
02. Redness in the Eye
03. Itchy Eye
04. Double Vision
If these symptoms do not subside on their own after a few days, consult your eye surgeon
Diagnosis of Squint Surgery Treatment India
Squint Eye Causes
Even though one cannot rule out the exact cause in every case, here are some commonly found squint eye causes:
01. Congenital, where a child is born with strabismus
02. Family history of squint
03. As an aftereffect of other vision problems such as short-sightedness, long-sightedness, or astigmatism
In rare cases, the following conditions may also play a role:
01. Infections like Measles
02. Genetic disorders like Downs Syndrome, Noonan syndrome
03. Delay in growth and development
04. Conditions related to the nervous system
05. Cerebral palsy
06. Hydrocephalus
Strabismus is also seen to be symptoms of a rare type of eye cancer present in children, which is known as retinoblastoma.
Squint Eye Symptoms
Find out below the commonly observed signs and symptoms of squint or strabismus.
01. Both eyes pointing towards different directions
02. Double vision
03. Abnormal head position
04. Inability to read comfortably
05. Headache and strain on the eyes
06. Squinting one eye in sunlight
07. Loss of vision
It is worth noting that the new-borns are usually seen with intermittent squint which gets corrected on its own by 2-4 months of age as development occurs.
Symptoms and Risk factors
When do you need to seek medical advice for a child with a squint?
Consider the following cases to seek medical advice:
01. If squint is present all the time
02. Intermittent episodes of squint in babies who are older than 3 months
03. Abnormal Head Position
04. Double Vision
If these symptoms do not subside on their own after a few days, consult your eye surgeon.
