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Dr. Levin heard "proof positve" of the successful surgery. When Olivia and her parents went to Disney World, her improved vision allowed Olivia to see Mickey Mouse "jump" out of the 3-D movie and greet the children. |
Pediatric ophthalmologist improves the vision of Kellogg's yougest patients
No parents want to hear that their child needs surgery. However, when a child has strabismus — a visual disorder in which the eyes are misaligned and point in different directions — sometimes surgery is the only treatment that works. Such was the case for Derek and Rebecca Najarian and their 21-month-old daughter, Olivia, from Pinckney, Michigan.
“It was the first surgery on our first child and we were scared,” says Mrs. Najarian. “But Dr. Levin treated us well every step of the way. She answered every question and explained each step of the process. We grew more and more comfortable, and, in the end, she really put our minds at ease.”
Erika M. Levin, M.D., a pediatric ophthalmologist at Kellogg, first saw Olivia in May 2003, when she was just 16 months old. Olivia’s pediatrician noticed the strabismus at her 15-month well-child visit and referred her to Dr. Levin in Kellogg’s Brighton office.
“When I first met Olivia, she was crying,” says Dr. Levin. “I wasn’t sure if she was nervous or scared, but we were able to work through the tears. I sang to her, worked quickly and we got the job done.”
Even though Olivia was too young to read an eye chart, Dr. Levin was able to examine her using finger puppets, mechanical toys and other equipment. Olivia had esotropia (inward turning of the eyes), amblyopia (a “lazy eye” or poorly-seeing eye) and some far-sightedness.
Dr. Levin first recommended glasses because they can sometimes help straighten the eyes in children with esotropia and farsightedness. This was not the case with Olivia. Dr. Levin also patched Olivia’s stronger eye to strengthen the vision in her weaker eye. Once her vision was equal and her misalignment was stable, Olivia was ready for surgery.
The goal in treating strabismus — a condition affecting 4 percent of children in the United States — is to straighten the eyes so they can be used together. With normal alignment, both eyes aim at the same spot. When one eye is out of alignment, two different images are sent to the brain. While adults would suffer from double vision, a child’s brain simply ignores the image from the misaligned eye. Correcting the misalignment early increases the chances of developing or regaining stereoscopic vision. If glasses aren’t effective, surgery — or a combination of glasses and surgery — is recommended.
In September 2003, when Olivia was 21 months old, she underwent successful strabismus surgery with Dr. Levin repositioning her inner eye muscles. She went home the same day, without any special bandages or patches, and returned to normal activities within a few days. Two months later, Olivia’s eyes were perfectly aligned. Her amblyopia hadn’t returned so she didn’t require further patching.
Now, at 6 years old, Olivia sees 20/30 in each eye without glasses and her eyes remain straight. She returns to Kellogg once a year for a follow-up appointment, a visit Dr. Levin eagerly awaits.
“One of the best things about being a pediatric ophthalmologist is seeing patients like Olivia grow and develop over the years,” says Dr. Levin. “It’s so rewarding to know that I’ve had a positive impact on my patients’ lives and on their families’ lives, too. I’m thrilled I can do that for them.”
For more information, see the Pediatric Ophthalmology Service at the Kellogg Eye Center.
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