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Horizontal Tenotomy: A Treatment for Congenital Nystagmus
Join Akron Children's Hospital March 28th, 12:30 p.m. for a procedure to correct a rare eye condition called congenital nystagmus, which causes rapid, uncontrollable eye movements that often blur vision. Robert Burnstine, M.D., director of pediatric ophthalmology at Akron Children's Hospital, will perform the horizontal tenotomy, while Amarpreet Singh, M.D., will act as a moderator.
About one in 3,000 people have congenital nystagmus, and many of these individuals are partially sighted. Some are legally blind. Few can drive a car. And almost all encounter some difficulties in everyday life – both socially and practically.
While there's no cure for congenital nystagmus, a surgical procedure designed to slow the "dancing" eye has shown promising results.
"The procedure – which involves detaching and reattaching horizontal eye muscle to the same location – is intended to trick the brain and slow down the uncontrollable, darting eye movement," said Dr. Burnstine, who was the first physician in the world to perform the surgery. "It sounds simple, but it seems to work. It's like rebooting a computer."
On average, patients have experienced a 20 percent improvement in their central vision and about a 50 percent improvement in their peripheral vision. Dr. Burnstine co-authored a study of the results, which was published in the December 2006 issue of the Journal of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus.
Until this procedure was developed in 1999, medical treatments for reducing abnormal eye movement had limited success.
"Since congenital nystagmus affects the nerves behind the eye, rather than the eye itself," Dr. Burnstine said, "glasses and contact lenses can't correct the condition."
Dr. Burnstine, however, added that some patients find that turning their head at a certain angle helps improve their vision.
Ideal candidates for the surgery are patients ages 1 to 50 who have a clinical diagnosis of congenital nystagmus; have not had previous eye muscle surgery; and have no abnormal head posture.
