Pediatric Ophthalmology: Children’s Eye Health

What is Pediatric Ophthalmology?

Pediatric ophthalmology is a branch of ophthalmology focused on eye diseases and visual development in children. It includes the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of visual disorders, eye diseases, and eye injuries during childhood.

Why is Pediatric Ophthalmology Important?

Eye health problems in children are often difficult to detect at an early stage because symptoms may not be obvious. Proper visual development is essential for a child’s overall growth, learning ability, and quality of life. Early detection of visual disorders allows timely treatment and significantly improves outcomes.

Warning Signs in Children

The following symptoms may indicate possible eye or vision problems in children. You should seek ophthalmologic evaluation if your child:

• Sits excessively close to the television

• Has difficulty copying from the classroom board or makes frequent mistakes while writing

• Frequently trips over small obstacles while walking

• Holds books or objects too close to the eyes

• Shows signs of strabismus (eye misalignment)

• Maintains unusual head or facial positioning

• Has involuntary oscillating eye movements (nystagmus)

• Displays a white reflex in the pupil instead of the normal red reflex

• Experiences eye itching, redness, or discharge

• Shows increased sensitivity to light

What is Amblyopia?

Amblyopia, commonly known as “lazy eye,” is a developmental visual disorder in which the brain and the affected eye fail to work together properly.

Normally, the eye and the visual centers of the brain function in coordination. In amblyopia, however, visual stimulation is disrupted due to conditions such as:

• Refractive errors

• Cataract

• Eye trauma

• Corneal scarring

• Strabismus

As a result, the corresponding area of the brain does not develop normal visual function, and the brain becomes unable to properly process visual input from the affected eye.

Why is Early Detection of Amblyopia Important?

Visual development is most active up to the age of 9 and continues at a lower intensity until approximately 11–12 years of age. After this period, visual development in the brain is essentially complete.

For this reason, early diagnosis and treatment of amblyopia are critically important.

Amblyopia can be difficult to detect, especially when only one eye is affected, because the child may not notice reduced vision and therefore may not complain about symptoms.

Comprehensive ophthalmologic examination is strongly recommended at the age of 2–3 years. Based on examination findings, the ophthalmologist determines the frequency of future eye evaluations.

Preventive examinations are particularly important in children with a family history of low vision or eye diseases.

How is Amblyopia Treated?

Treatment of amblyopia aims to stimulate and strengthen the weaker eye by forcing it to function visually.

The primary treatment method is occlusion therapy, which involves covering the stronger eye so that the amblyopic eye becomes visually active. Eye patching is usually required daily for several hours over a period of months or even years, depending on the severity of the condition.

Treatment should continue not only until improvement is achieved, but also to stabilize and maintain the result.

Pharmacologic therapy may also be used in some cases. Special eye drops temporarily blur vision in the stronger eye to encourage use of the weaker eye, although this method is generally considered less effective than occlusion therapy.

It is important to note that amblyopia treatment should begin only after correction of the underlying cause of reduced vision. Treatment success depends greatly on:

• The age at which therapy begins

• Consistency and accuracy in following the prescribed treatment schedule

Early treatment produces significantly better results. Therefore, regular eye examinations are especially important during the first 3–5 years of life.

Treatment of amblyopia in adults is generally much less effective, although research in this field is ongoing.

Why Choose Akhali Mzera Eye Clinic?

At Akhali Mzera Eye Clinic, consultations are provided exclusively by leading ophthalmologists and experienced specialists. The clinic’s primary mission is to deliver the highest quality ophthalmologic care to every patient.

As a specialized ophthalmology center, the clinic is entirely focused on eye diseases and vision-related conditions. This allows the medical team to maintain deep specialization in all areas of ophthalmology.

The clinic utilizes ultra-modern, premium-class diagnostic and treatment equipment, enabling early detection and effective management of various eye diseases.

International Recognition and Innovation

Merab Dvali and the leading specialists of the clinic achieved international recognition by becoming the first in the world to perform pediatric laser vision correction in 2000 — a groundbreaking achievement in ophthalmology.

This accomplishment established Professor Merab Dvali among the world’s leading ophthalmologists and highlighted the clinic’s role in advancing modern eye care.

Leading Specialists

• Nino Buchukuri

• Natia Beroshvili

• Merab Dvali