My daughter Isa was diagnosed with exotropia at the age of 2. I started noticing a very slight outward wonder of her eyes when she was two. At first it was difficult for me to confirm it because each instance started initially with just a few seconds. I mentioned it to my husband, and he said he didn't notice anything and it was probably just me over worrying about her. However, he said to go ahead and get it checked out to be on the safe side. I made the appointment with the opthomologist hoping that it was me just over worrying but deep down I knew something was wrong.
The initial appointment was very nerve wrecking, I took both Isa and Max to the appointment by myself. My husband wasn't able to make it because he was on work orders somewhere else and although we were living with him too, I was traveling back home for our appointments. Isa's doctor referred us to a specialist and he didn't have any appointments available for at least two months so I decided to make the appointment with his partner.
Since the doctors specialize in children opthomology the office was very kid friendly. Little chairs, tables and cartoons. Isa felt comfortable in this environment. The appointment took an extremely long time. They dilated her eyes which was a nightmare, having to hold her down along with a medical assistant while another administered the eye drops. Not to mention that poor Max was also terrified of the situation seeing his older sister scream. Finally after a few hours I met with the doctor. He confirmed that she did in fact have exotropia (a eye misalignment that causes an outward drift of the eye) in both eyes. He said that the problem wasn't going to go away on it's own and that she would probably need surgery. He also said that she may need repeated surgery throughout her lifetime or she may never need it again.
I went home extremely discouraged and sad that my precious two year old daughter might need surgery and a bit confused because although now I had a name to the problem I wasn't quite sure what to expect or what alternatives there were. That same night I began my research. I was able to find a great deal of information on the condition itself but very limited information on therapy or surgery. Through research I learned that eye patching might be a good alternative and so I made another appointment for a second opinion.
We headed to our second opinion appointment this time with Grandma on board to take care of Max in the waiting area. This doctor was highly recommended by one of my husband's friends who also has a child with eye problems. The office was located in a big building with a hospital feel to it. This was a general medical building and quite truthfully I didn't feel very comfortable with it. The doctor was very jaded about our diagnosis of exotropia and I felt rushed, she did however suggest patching. I liked the alternative to surgery on my baby but truth be said I didn't like the hospital feel and I didn't like the doctor. On to our 3rd opinion...
Since I kept having to travel on my own with both my kiddos to these doctor appointments which was easily a 10 hour drive we decided to get a third appointment with a local doctor. I absolutely loved the doctor and although he didn't strictly specialize in children opthomology I liked the way him and his staff were so child friendly. At the end of the appointment Isa got to pick a toy from a treasure chest. She absolutely loved that and talked about it for the whole week. I did however get the same diagnosis of exotropia and he suggested surgery as soon as possible.
Although I really liked the doctor I didn't feel comfortable with the idea of my baby getting surgery somewhere far from home and truthfully the town didn't have a high reputation for their medical capabilities. So I traveled back home this time to see the doctor that Isa's pediatrician referred us to, one that is considered one of the best in town. This time my husband was able to travel back with us. We met Dr. S and felt so comfortable with him. He was personable and very caring. He said for starters she needed glasses and had astigmatism. He confirmed what everyone else had already told us, exotropia in both eyes but he thought that she could benefit from patching however surgery might be eminent.
The theory behind patching is to strengthen the eye muscles that cause the eye to drift outward. He recommended that we patch her stronger eye in hopes of strengthening her weaker eye.
Isa was so excited to pick out her first pair of glasses, Dora glasses and a patch which surprisingly come with cute designs. It was exciting that she would be able to see better but it was a bittersweet moment because I felt saddened that although I wore glasses that my little girl at the small age of two was getting her first pair :( I felt much more optimistic about her condition though and felt that if anything we could at least postpone the traumatizing event of a surgery to an age that she could at least understand why.
My baby Isa's first glasses and one of her many patches. She was constantly losing them ; - )
http://www.pedseye.com/Exotropia.htm
http://www.aapos.org/terms/conditions/49
