Do all cases of crossed eyes require surgery?
Yes, if they’re totally crossed at birth they’ll require surgery. Glasses may be used sometime during the treatment. There’s no such therapy as eye exercises to strengthen the eye position for these infants. You say the first six years are very important to the development of good vision. What should parents look out for? In the early stages of development, from 3 to 6 months, they should make sure their child’s eyes are straight or if there’s any question about it, they should bring it to the attention of a pediatrician, who can do a basic test, or family doctor so they can get a referral to an ophthalmologist. In some cases people aren’t suspicious enough and you get a tragic delay. And although strabismus is way more common than an eye tumor, that can be a cause of eye crossing. I had four such cases. All were lethal forms, but fortunately all of them lived. It’s always better to be on the safer side. How common is strabismus? In my referral practice I see a high percentage – 20 to
