is there surgery out there to fix lazy eyes?

Answer 1

There's a yes and no answer to this one!

There can be several different reasons why an eye might be lazy (formally, amblyopic).
If the problem is poor alignment of the eyes, so that the brain cannot use both eyes at once without double vision and so tends to concentrate purely on one, surgery to correct the alignment is often done in children , as young as possible.
*This does not correct the ambyopia* but tries to give the brain a chance to develop the use of both eyes. Eye patches and exercises are usually needed to reinforce the message to the brain that the weak eye should be used.

With some amblyopia the basic alignment of the eyes is not the problem, and spectacles, contact lenses and exercises are the prescribed treatment.

But beyond the age of about 12 (7, in some modern text books) the brain has developed its habits and treatment produces very limited effect. An adult is generally stuck with a lazy eye (in terms of poor performance: if there is an actual squint, turn, that *can* be *cosmetically* aided with surgery).

An internet search will show a small number of practioners claiming to be able to treat amblyopia at any age.
I'm not convinced.

(Optometrist, retired)

Answer 2

Yes! I have had surgery twice on both of my eyes. On the inner corner when I was 10 months old and just a few months ago on the outer corners. Its a minor procedure that leaves you with a few days needed for recovery time. Unfortunately, the results aren't always as good as you would like them. There is no guarantee so it is just a gamble. I decided I wanted to take the gamble. My eyes were straight for 3 months but then they slowly started to go back. Now the are still better than they were, but now perfect. I would still recommend you to at least give it a shot for a piece of mind. For some people one surgery is all it takes, for others, they can never be fixed (i guess I'm one of them).

Answer 3

There are two eye conditions that both get called lazy eyes.

1) Amblyopia, where one eye is weaker than the other and doesn't work as hard to see. Surgery for this: No, unfortunately there isn't...even in children. Amblyopia is treatable in young children with patching, atropine penalization, and glasses. Amblyopia occurs as our eyes develop from infancy...it deals more with the brain waves from the optic nerves and 'learning' to see. Once a person reaches about age 10, the likelihood of correction of amblyopia severely decreases. Best treatment time for amblyopia is from 6-12 months of age to about 9.

2) Strabismus, where the eyes are not aligned to look straight ahead...or do not match in their alignment (cross-eyed or 'wall' eyed, or one eye looks up or down more than the other). This condition CAN be treated with surgery, even in adults barring uncontrolled conditions that can cause strabismus in adults (thyroid eye disease, myasthenia gravis, extraocular nerve compression). Many adults do get this surgery as long as the measurements are proven to be stable over time...typically 2-3 years depending on the cause of the strabismus. It can also be treated nonsurgically with prisms attached to glasses (this is how the surgeons treat it when there is no double vision with the prism and for smaller deviation measurements).

Depending on which "lazy eye" condition you are talking about depends entirely on the answer of whether there is surgery or not.

Answer 4

yes. See an opthamologist. I know patching is only effective on children, and not adults. (asked my doc if it would help and he said nope.) There may be a cosmetic fix that will limit how the eye drifts.
It seems that early intervention is the best way to straighten up a lazy eye.

Answer 5

yes there is surgery to fix lazy eyes but usually it is combined with wearing a patch (pirate type)on the good eye to make the lazy eye look and operate better as this make the muscles stronger if this fails then they can operate and shorten the muscles to pull the eye into line ,see your doc or optician ,i think it depends on the age of a person with children it works better as they are developing with adults it may not work as well but worth the chance

Answer 6

My sister also had surgery for lazy eye when she was 5 years old, and then wore a patch for a few years after. Her vision is good enough to not wear glasses now.

Answer 7

I just wanted to say I hope someone has an answer to this question as i had a bad lazy eye when i was kid, i wore the patch...!! and now it isnt noticable, but i am still aware of it and know how you feel

Answer 8

Yes, any ophthalmologist can give you an evaluation and explain the operation fully. Don't be shy about asking her/him questions either. I was born with one eye that turned in toward my nose. A very good optometrist corrected this with special glasses before I was 12 years old. I hope you have just as good results!

Answer 9

Improve Your Eyesight Naturally

Answer 10

Yes there is, however I am not sure if they do it with adults or not.
Sometimes the patch works where you patch the non-lazy eye.
Also, I believe there are eye exercises that you can do that help. For me, switching from glasses to contact lenses made a huge difference in straightening my eye.