Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can an eye that drifts be straightened at any age?
A: Yes. In general, we recommend that children undergo eye muscle surgery when they are younger in order to improve the development of depth perception. However, we do surgery on children and adults of all ages and can often restore depth perception if it was present previously. Patients are often misinformed that surgery won't be helpful for them, when, in fact, surgery can be extremely helpful for them. Dr. Blatt has been performing eye muscle surgery since 1994, and is comfortable and experienced with fixing both simple and complicated eye muscle problems.
Q: Can I undergo eye muscle surgery if I have had surgery in the past?
A: Yes. We routinely do surgery on adults that have had surgery in the past when they were children. We are often referred patients that have undergone unsuccessful surgery in the past, and we usually are successful in helping them with surgery.
Q: Can you help patients with double vision?
A: Yes, we see patients every day that have double vision. It often can be treated with prism in glasses. If the glasses are ineffective, or the double vision is more severe, surgery is often quite successful in fixing the double vision.
Q: My child has a lazy eye or amblyopia. Can this be treated effectively?
A: There are a number of effective treatments for amblyopia. How effective the treatment are is both a function of the age of the patient at the time of treatment, as well as the compliance with the treatment. Often amblyopia can be treated by either a patching regimen or atropine eye drops to improve vision.
Q: My child has been diagnosed with a cataract. Do you do surgery for that?
A: Yes, cataract surgery is performed on an outpatient basis. We are one of the few providers in the St. Louis area that put in multifocal implants that can focus up close and far away in children. We also place monofocal implants if more appropriate.
Q: My child has chronic tearing, what can be done for this?
A: If this is the result of a tear duct obstruction, that a tear duct probing with a balloon dilation is an extremely effective procedure for this. Ninety percent of the time, this procedure is effective. If it is ineffective, than a stent can be placed in the tear duct and removed after several months.
Q: Where do you perform surgery?
A: We perform our surgery at either Chesterfield Surgery Center or St. Luke's Hospital. We work closely with highly trained anesthesiologists who are comfortable working with both children and adults.
Feel free to contact us at 314-997-3937 for an exam if you are looking for a second opinion or diagnosis. Our practice serves the greater St. Louis area; many doctors refer patients to us from Missouri and neighboring states.