esotropia
Esotropia is a visual disturbance characterized by deviation of the eyeball towards the nasal canthus, which means that it is convergent. This anomaly appears without apparent cause at approximately 6 months of age.
Esotropia is reversible during childhood. For this reason, it is very important to take the child to the ophthalmologist when symptoms of visual deviation begin to appear. Only an ophthalmologist can detect esotropia and differentiate it from other similar diseases, such as lazy eye.
esotropia
Esotropia is a visual disturbance characterized by deviation of the eyeball towards the nasal canthus, which means that it is convergent. This anomaly appears without apparent cause at approximately 6 months of age.
Esotropia is reversible during childhood. For this reason, it is very important to take the child to the ophthalmologist when symptoms of visual deviation begin to appear. Only an ophthalmologist can detect esotropia and differentiate it from other similar diseases, such as lazy eye.
What is esotropia?
Esotropia is a visual abnormality that causes convergent deviation of the eyeball. In patients with this condition, the eye can be seen clearly deflected inward or the nasal canthus. This alteration usually manifests after 6 months of age.
Esotropia can lead to amblyopia. This occurs when the brain automatically suppresses the image corresponding to the deviated eye. Fortunately, childhood esotropia is reversible and can be corrected by taking the child to the pediatric ophthalmologist.
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Esotropia can manifest itself in different ways depending on its origin. These are the types:
Accommodative esotropia
This type of esotropia usually manifests almost always from 3 years of age. This anomaly is also known as refractive esotropia, and occurs due to the excessive effort of accommodation that the ocular structure makes to see the images better.
Accommodative esotropia occurs involuntarily due to the patient's need to see better. This type is associated with childhood hyperopia and must be treated immediately to prevent amblyopia or lazy eye.
Congenital esotropia
It is the type of esotropia that is present from birth or appears during the first 6 months of age of the little one This alteration may be a consequence of the genetic factor and may be accompanied by involuntary eye movements, also known as nistagmus.
Children with congenital esotropia they can see out of one eye and avert the other. Sometimes they are able to alternate the deviated eye. So that it does not cause irreversible damage, it is recommended to carry out a strabismus operation before 18 months of age. After the operation, the child must attend regular check-ups to rule out the presence of farsightedness.
Concomitant acquired esotropia
This is the most common type. This anomaly manifests between 2 and 3 years of age in children who, in general, have a family history. Concomitant acquired esotropia begins suddenly, can be fixed at the same point or progressively increase the deviation.
This esotropia also is treated with surgery. Ideally, it should be corrected after treating hyperopia and amblyopia, if they are present.
Transmission
Signs of esotropia may be confused with other anomalies, such as amblyopia. For this reason, it is important to take the child to the pediatric ophthalmologist at the time the parents show symptoms of visual deviation.
In the ophthalmological consultation, in addition to examining both ocular structures, it is important perform eye tests To rule out the presence of a squint, farsightedness and lazy eye or amblyopia.
Accommodative esotropia can be correct through the use of glasses or contact lenses. This treatment makes it possible to reduce the accommodation effort exerted by the eye to see better and, therefore, correct the ocular deviation.
Convergent deviation of the eyeball can also be improved through visual therapy. Visual therapy consists of a series of eye exercises that allow strengthen eye muscles and help correct strabismus and lazy eye.
Eye surgery is the most common treatment for those patients who do not respond to other medical treatments, including for an accommodative esotropia that has not responded correctly to the use of corrective glasses.
Ideally correct esotropia before lazy eye or amblyopia occurs. Surgery involves weakening or strengthening the eye muscles. The muscles to be treated may vary from patient to patient. The surgery is performed in children and adults under local anesthesia with sedation.
Treatment of esotropia in babies
Esotropia in newborns usually appears by 6 months of age and, ideally, start treating this condition as soon as possible to prevent it from leading to amblyopia.
Congenital esotropia Must be seen before 18 months of age to protect the baby's binocular vision. The recommended treatment is surgery and it can be carried out even in babies as young as 6 months.
The most used technique is through the recession of the medial rectus muscles of both ocular structures. In some cases, retouching is necessary when a certain amount of time has elapsed.
Parents of children operated on for esotropia They must be very aware of the visual health of their children. The ideal is to take the little one to regular ophthalmological check-ups to rule out the presence of hyperopia in the baby since this refractive error is quite common in children who have suffered esotropia.
