Dr. Irfan Khan

About Adult Squint (Strabismus)

Adult squint is a misalignment of both eyes and effects about 4% of the adult population

What is the aim of surgery?

• To improve the alignment of the eyes, to make the squint smaller in size.
• In some patients, to reduce or try to eliminate double vision.
• Occasionally to improve an abnormal position of the head.

How is the surgery done?

Squint surgery is a very common eye operation. It usually involves tightening or moving one or more of the outside eye muscles which move the eye. These muscles are attached quite close to the front of the eye under the conjunctiva, the clear surface layer. The eye is never taken out of the socket during surgery. Stitches are used to attach the muscles in their new positions. Squint surgery is nearly always a day case procedure so you should be in and out of hospital on the same day.

About Amblyopia

Amblyopia, also known as a ‘lazy eye’, is a childhood condition where a child’s eyesight does not develop in the way it should. The problem is usually just in one eye but can sometimes affect both. If a child has weaker vision in one eye, the brain prefers to use the stronger eye and therefore the visual pathway is not stimulated enough and amblyopia develops.

About Children’s Eye Health

Many parents will be familiar with the importance of immunisations, routine screenings such as hearing tests, weight, and growth charts for their children, not to mention dental health when the time arises, but what about their vision?

Some eye conditions do not display any signs or symptoms, so the only way to know for sure is to take your child for a sight test. In cases where there is no perceived problem and no significant family history of squint, lazy eye or serious eye conditions in childhood, we recommend an annual eye examination from around 3-4yrs old. Once these children reach nine and upwards, generally we advise an eye examination every two years unless your Ophthalmologist has advised otherwise.

About Lacrimal Probing

The tear duct is a channel/passage which runs from a tiny opening in the medial lids through the bone to the inside of the nose, and drains the tears and mucus the eye produces. It should open just before or just after birth but sometimes remains blocked for a considerable time after that, causing watering and discharge from the eye. It is harmless, and does not affect the health of the eye or the vision, although it can make the eyelids red and sore and slightly increases the frequency of infective conjunctivitis. The only potentially serious consequence is acute dacryocystitis, which is very unusual.

Most cases resolve with time and can be safely left to do so. Intervention is not normally considered under 1 year and even after that time, spontaneous resolution is still the most likely scenario. The procedure does not have to be done and the decision is the parents. The likelihood of probing success starts to decrease markedly after age 4 years.

The aim of lacrimal probing is to open or widen the tear duct in order to reduce or eliminate watering and discharge

About Progressive Myopia

Myopia or short-sightedness is the difficulty in seeing objects far away. This difficulty is because the light is not correctly focusing on the retina. It is a common eye condition and can progress as the child grows.

About Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP)

Retinopathy of Prematurity (also called ROP) is an eye disease that affects many premature babies. ROP happens when a baby’s retina doesn’t fully develop in the weeks after birth.  As a consequence of premature birth, abnormal blood vessels are formed, which are fragile and can leak, scarring the retina and pulling it out of position. This causes a retinal detachment, which is the main cause of visual impairment and blindness in ROP. Some cases of ROP are mild and correct themselves, however, others require surgery to prevent vision loss or blindness. Surgery involves using a laser or other means to stop the growth of the abnormal blood vessels, making sure they don’t pull on the retina. As ROP has no signs or symptoms, the only way to detect it is through an eye examination by an ophthalmologist.

About Paediatric Cataract

We all have a natural lens inside the eye that helps us to see clearly. The lens should be transparent like a clean crystal but a cataract makes the lens cloudy. Paediatric cataract is a condition in which the lens of the eye is cloudy, either partially or completely. It can be a congenital condition, present at the time of birth or acquired later, developing after the birth. A cloudy lens can occur in one eye (unilateral) or both eyes (bilateral).