Squint surgery

[Crochetmadmama]

My dd8 is due next Thursday for her squint surgery, it feels so sudden even though we were on the list since nov, we did speak to the surgeon then and I specifically remember him saying when they correct it they will pull the eye in slightly so as it heals it should straighten up, now I'm panicking she will have cross eyes for photos and stuff going forward , am I over thinking this? Did they do this for anyone else's kiddies?

Thank you did you experience long lasting redness or scarring?

No nothing. Eye is perfectly normal now.

That's really reassuring thank you x

I have had 3 surgeries for squints that occurred when I was tired. My first at about 11years, second at about 15 years and my final surgery at about 20 (during my final year at university). During my final surgery they adjusted the eyes when I was awake. The final surgery lasted until I was in my 40's. Unfortunately they can't do any more surgeries and I now have prisms on my glasses. I do have good 3D vision and both eyes have similar vision. If my double vision was to get really bad they mentioned Botox but I am hoping it is stable for now.

my son had this done 12 months ago. Completely revolutionary, no scarring, redness of the whites of his eyes disappeared after maybe a week?
honestly, having it done was the best decision we made.

I will send you a picture!

Actually, it turns out I can’t send you a picture 🤦‍♀️
so you will have to take my word for it 😊

Would love to see a picture if possible as iv been doing the worst I can and googling but it's mainly adults results I'm finding x

I had my left eye squint corrected by surgery when I was 7. Which was considered late. Delays occurred due to consultant being ill. In the run up I had patching. Back in the 70’s we didn’t have cute eye patches, it was white tape stuck directly onto glasses.

Date of my surgery was 14th November 1973. Princess Anne married Mark Philips. Mum said I ruined her tv viewing of the wedding as she was worried about me. 😂

it must be a quick surgery as the whole ward about 6 or 7 kids were all done on the same day.

After surgery we all had red eyes. Can’t remember how many days I was in hospital for. Although I do know I could have had a week off school but returned as soon as possible for the drama and attention . (Weirdo kid that I was) Hated school, should have milked it for a week off. So OP your child will definitely be recovered by September.

Expected very crusty eye after a nights sleep. You will need to bathe the eye open with cooled boiled water every day for about a week.

My operation was a complete success. Matching straight eyes. No further surgeries needed. Opticians used to ask who done my surgery as it was so good. They don’t ask anymore as I’m 58.

Thank you so much, did you have any long lasting redness or scars?

@Crochetmadmama no lasting redness. Scar is invisible. My eye turned in towards my nose. I think to trained people they can see the incision site by pulling my lower eye lid down.

My operation was necessary to save the sight in my left eye. However because I was operated on late my eyes don’t work together. Meaning I have very little 3d vision. If I had had vigorous patching earlier thinks could have been different.

My own daughter is long sighted and has a right eye that turns in. She had the patching and can see in 3d. Sadly she is not suitable for surgery. Glasses correct her squint. I was told if she had surgery she would still need glasses for the long sightedness and wearing glasses would force her eye to turn outwardly. I would love her to wear contact lenses but she too nervous to give them a try ( shes 21).

My daughters turn is outwards and is intermittent so she can pull it in sometimes it's worse if talking across the room with her and when she's tired , they didn't patch her they said it would not help and wasnt suitable for thay kind of turn, she only has a very slight prescription for her glasses

Honestly OP, don't worry, they know what they are doing.

DS' eyes look perfectly aligned now.

Hi @Crochetmadmama, I hope you are feeling okay in the lead up to your daughter's surgery. How is she doing? Does she know much about what will happen or have you chosen to be a bit more vague?

My daughter (6) has an inward turn in her left eye. She has had patching for the last year to correct her vision, which has been successful. They are just trying to get both eyes to be equal now so trying out different patching timings.

Once patching is finished, the only way to fix the squint - which they have said is cosmetic - is with squint surgery.

So I hope you don't mind but I am following your post with interest. I have everything crossed for you that Thursday goes really well for your daughter - and that her recovery is as quick and as comfortable as possible.

Hello, honestly I'm a nervous wreck and still unsure if it's the right thing to put her through, our original opthalmology appointments said it would be cosmetic procedure but the surgeon told me it was a functional surgery not cosmetic x

I had squint surgery on both eyes when I was 10. I’m now 51. Total success . Perfectly straight eyes. No scarring or reddening. Like a pp, my optician said she would never have known by looking at my eyes.

DM said she wished someone had warned her that my tears would be red as it came as a shock! I remember being very sore for a day or two and having eye drops put in several times a day was horrible. Worth it though.

Neither functional nor cosmetic mean you have to get it done now. Many parents wait and let their child decide when they're older. Delaying is unlikely to do her any harm and as long as she can sometimes still pull her eyes straight she will retain this ability. The main reasons to do surgery with these types of squint is if she is bothered by the appearance or gets unkind comments when it drifts out, or if trying to control it all the time it's giving her headaches, double vision, blur, eyestrain or problems with her learning.
If neither apply then it fine to cancel the surgery and do it if she wants when she's older.

FYI, the drift will likely to be harder to control as she gets older and may drift out more. However, this is by no means certain and does not mean she should have the surgery now. It can and will still drift out again eventually after surgery and early surgery will not prevent that.
Do you have a surgery date yet?

Yes she's booked in for this Thursday, he told me on the phone most of these eye drifts usually end up permanent and end up the vision getting worse and could potentially affect her driving when she's older, i also do not want her to get bullied, she did cover the eye at school if she's tired or it's bright , but I just feel terrible for her

@Crochetmadmama

It's so hard to know if you are making the right decision isn't it.

As @SavetheNHS has said, we can wait until they are older/old enough to decide.

However, perhaps they will be grateful we made the decision for them and it is done and out of the way while they are younger.

We see different orthoptists as we go every 6 weeks and one is quite relaxed and is giving me the impression they think we should wait, whilst another was speaking from a mental health/self confidence perspective and seemed to gently suggest we go ahead when the time comes.

My gut feeling is to go ahead once we can whilst she is still quite little and may forget most of it... however it is worrying knowing that it might not work/last.

My little girl is already self conscious and cries saying 'stupid patch, nobody wears this except me' every morning. She isn't actually aware of the squint yet but once she is, I know she will be very self conscious.

On the other hand, she is petrified of doctors, needles, most things medical! So the surgery will be very frightening for her.

Sorry for the ramble. I know you must have gone through all of this - or similar - in your head to have reached your decision for Thursday. You will be doing what you feel is right for your daughter. Hopefully you have had the chance to ask all the questions you wanted and they have been honest in what to expect.

Keep thinking positive - they do this surgery so regularly and if they feel it is right for your daughter, hopefully you feel you can put your trust in them and it will be an excellent outcome.

I had the surgery aged 3 and 17.
You can't tell, that I had it. Just for info, the second time...there was thick sleep in my eye every morning for a few days
..a bit like conjunctivitis so couldn't open my eye.. didn't hurt ..

Hi, my daughter had squint surgery on both eyes when she was 4. She’s now 16 and her eyes are still looking great! I remember feeling terrified for her, but honestly, she had no problems at all. The eyes were not very red or very sore and it all calmed down within a few days. All the best. I know it feels scary, but hundreds of children have this operation and the consultant will have performed the surgery countless times. I really will be thinking of you both.

My son has a squint and his drits out when he is tierd, but my older son thinks he dies it by choice as well. My son has non mild ASD ( there is no PC to describe how badly it impacts on his life). He couldn't talk until he was 7. I had so much conflicting advice on his eyes. I was told at hospital that if it wasnt corrected by 6, his 3d part of his brain would die, that patches or glasses wouldn't help. I had no idea what's true or not. It's scary. The next Dr told me something different, the next Dr said he no squint, the next said has was short sighted.

My son has his corrected non surgically but if I know he can still unfocus by choice or even tierd. The whole thing is confusing so ask as many questions as you can. I think as long as everyone is very confident and consistent your dd will be fine. It's been done a million times before.

Your DD is 8 years old so the squint will not damage her eyesight. If a young child has a constant squint they tend to develop amblyopia which is reduced vision in that eye. However, your DD is too old to develop amblyopia now and she had an intermittent squint so wouldn't have developed it anyway from the squint. So, not doing the surgery will not affect her ability to drive. Also, you only need one eye with normal eyesight to drive so that was never in doubt (assuming she currently has normal vision).
What I will say is that whatever you do tomorrow it will be fine.
Only you know if it would be better for you both to get it done now and out the way or wait till she's older.
Either way, her eyesight won't be affected. Either way, her eye will likely drift out again in the future.
If you go ahead, tomorrow will be emotionally draining for you so be kind to yourself and find some way of treating you and your DD over the weekend.

@Crochetmadmama I hope everything went well for your daughter yesterday and she is recovering well x

It’s completely natural to feel anxious before your daughter’s surgery. It’s a big step, and the idea of her potentially having cross eyes for photos can be worrying. From what you've shared, it sounds like the surgeon is taking a cautious approach to ensure the best long-term outcome. Many parents have experienced similar concerns, and often the initial adjustment period is just part of the healing process. As the eyes heal and adapt, the alignment typically improves. It’s a good idea to talk to the surgeon again before the procedure to clarify any concerns and get reassurance. Trust in the expertise of the medical team and the careful planning they’ve put into her care. You’ve got this!