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For years, John Danielson of Indianola, Iowa had an eye
muscle condition in which his eyes would shake and he needed
to markedly turn his head to the side in order to see well.
Reading was difficult, and the condition made Danielson,
57, self-conscious when he had to speak publicly.
However, more adults like Danielson whose eye problems
were not treated in childhood are finding help from
University of Iowa Health Care ophthalmologists.
On referral from Thomas Brown, MD, a West Des Moines
ophthalmologist, Danielson had corrective surgery at UI
Hospitals and Clinics last fall.
He now enjoys vision that allows him to read with ease
and look directly into his wife's and five children's eyes
while keeping his head straight.
"I reaped some major benefits," said Danielson, a
communications engineer for the Iowa Communications Network.
"The treatment really improved my quality of vision. I
noticed the difference within a couple of hours after
surgery."
William E. Scott, MD, a University of Iowa Health Care
ophthalmologist and nationally recognized expert is
strabismus (also known as "lazy eye") and other eye muscle
conditions, performed the operation.
UI ophthalmologists annually perform nearly 450
strabismus and other eye muscle operations, most of them to
treat strabismus or rarer eye muscle conditions such as
Danielson's.
In a three-hour outpatient procedure, Scott cut muscles
in Danielson's eyeballs and reattached them to correct the
marked head turning problem. On his way home later that day,
Danielson read a magazine in the car.
"Correcting John's abnormal head posture made a great
difference in his life," Scott said. "The treatment is not
simply cosmetic but restorative. Eye muscle surgery can
provide functional gains, restoring the field of vision or
simultaneous perception as in the case of cross-eye or
walleye."
In strabismus, poor eye muscle control causes a lack of
coordinated eye movement. The eyes turn inward in convergent
strabismus, causing "cross-eye." In divergent strabismus,
the eyes diverge, causing "walleye." Other forms of
strabismus can cause double vision. Left untreated, a child
may favor the unaffected eye, which can cause the other eye
to get even worse. Strabismus affects up to 4 percent of the
general population.
A good number of adults with strabismus were born with
eye alignment deformities or developed them later in life.
For various reasons adults are often told the condition
cannot be treated, or treatments are not available at their
age, Scott said. However, many cases now are treatable.
"It's a myth that strabismus can't be corrected with good
results even in adults who grew up with the condition,"
Scott said. "We may not be able to correct a condition 100
percent, but upon evaluation, we can let a patient know what
is possible."
Danielson's parents took him to the UI in the 1950, when
he was 8, but treatments were not available then, and he had
to learn how to cope with the disability.
"I would turn my head to where the eyes were steady and
quiet," he said. Although his distance vision was not a
problem, his close vision activities were compromised enough
to affect his everyday life. He recalls that schools in the
1950 did not really know how to help students like him.
Scott said that studies associate stress with strabismus.
In our culture where direct eye contact is expected, a
schoolteacher or work colleague may mistake a "sideways"
look for inattention or even disrespect.
Today, nearly 40 percent of patients treated for
strabismus at UI Hospitals and Clinics are age 9 or older.
As with all medical conditions involving the eye, people
should talk with their ophthalmologists or other eye care
professionals if they have strabismus or any sudden onset
eye problem.
For more information about treatment of strabismus and
other eye muscle conditions, call the toll-free UI Health
Access number and ask for pediatric ophthalmology, or call
directly at 319-356-2859. Physician calls for consultation
and scheduling should be directed to the toll-free UI
Consult number.
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