Amblyopia

Amblyopia (lazy eye) occurs when the brain learns to ignore the messages being sent by an eye. If not treated at an early age, the vision loss will be permanent. There are two main causes of amblyopia. Poor vision in one eye, which leads the brain to ignore the weak eye that sees blurry pictures, is one cause. Strabismus is the second cause of amblyopia. Strabismus leads the brain to ignore the eye that is not aligned.

The treatment varies from patient to patient depending on an individual’s eyes. The treatment required may be glasses, patching the stronger eye to force the patient to use the weaker eye, and/or eye drops. When the eyes aren’t straight, surgery may also be required. If surgery is indicated, it is almost always done as an out patient procedure. For best results, it is important that amblyopia is treated at an early age.