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Introduction to Eye Muscle Surgery: Expanding the Treatment for Nystagmus in Infancy and Childhood
On Thursday, September 8, 2011 at 6 p.m. Eastern join ophthalmologist Richard Hertle at Akron Children's Hospital as he discusses a procedure to correct a rare eye condition called infantile nystagmus, which causes rapid, uncontrollable eye movements that often blur vision.
About one in 3,000 people have infantile 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 infantile nystagmus, a surgical procedure designed to slow the "dancing" eye has shown promising results. On average, patients have experienced a 20 percent improvement in their central vision and about a 50 percent improvement in their peripheral vision.
Until this procedure was developed in 1999, medical treatments for reducing abnormal eye movement had limited success.
Ideal candidates for the surgery are patients ages 1 to 50 who have a clinical diagnosis of infantile nystagmus; have not had previous eye muscle surgery; and have no abnormal head posture.
