The Department of Paediatric Ophthalmology is housed in a separate wing designed exclusively for children.
It has state-of-the-art equipment for comprehensive examination of children’s eyes with
experienced doctors to deal with wide variety of paediatric eye conditions.
The Department “MAKKALA NETHRA JYOTI” was established with the support of ORBIS International (An International NGO committed to removing needless blindness in children worldwide).
MAKKALA NETHRA JYOTI PROJECT
Under this project specific hospital based training programmes (disease specific and surgical) were held at our hospital by highly skilled international Paediatric Ophthalmologists.
Instruments were bought for Paediatric department and research studies were supported by ORBIS.
Several School teachers were trained under this programme to conduct vision testing for school children in remote areas. Anganwadi workers were trained to reach-out Pre-school children. Partnership was made with few NGOs to carryout school screening programme.
With the help of ORBIS more districts of Karnataka were covered under Outreach School Eye Screening programme.
FACILITIES AVAILABLE AT THE HOSPITAL FOR PAEDIATRIC OPHTHALMOLOGY
Comprehensive eye examination for early detection of various paediatric eye problems
- Refractive Error
- Squint and amblyopia
- ROP screening and retinal conditions
- Low vision
Management of ocular conditions
- Allergic eye conditions
- Watery eyes
Surgical management of cataract , glaucoma , squint , paediatric keratoplasty , paediatric collagen cross linking for keratoconus , Retinal surgeries and Nasolacrimal duct obstruction surgeries ( probing , DCR ).
Screening facilities for early detection of eye problems
- School eye screening
- ROP screening
Contact lens , Low vision Aids , Amblyopia therapy.
Common Eye Problems in Children
1. Refractive errors
This is one of the common and easily correctable problem encountered in children. Children can face the following problems:
Hypermetropia - farsightedness or longsightedness
A child who is ‘long-
Myopia - short-sightedness or nearsightedness
It causes distant objects to appear blurred, while close objects can still be seen clearly.
Astigmatism – an inability of the cornea to properly focus an image onto the retina resulting in blurred or distorted vision.
2. Squint / Strabismus -Miss alignment of eyes
Depending on type and cause, eyes can be improved with glasses or surgery or prism or eye patching.
By the direction of the squinting (turning) eye:
- An eye that turns inwards is called an Esotropia.
- An eye that turns outwards is called an Exotropia.
- An eye that turns upwards is called a Hypertropia.
- An eye that turns downwards is called a Hypotropia.
3. Amblyopia (Lazy eye)
This condition is characterized by reduced vision due to various causes like squint/deviation of eye, refractive error or interruption in the light passing into eye due to opacity (corneal opacity or cataract)
If recognized early and with timely corrective measures including eye patching measures, the permanent visual impairment can be avoided.
4. Ptosis / droping of eyelid
Congenital Ptosis or dropping of eyelid since childhood occurs due to developmental weakness of eyelid muscle. It can be associated with refractive error, squint and dropping eyelid could block light passing into retina leading to lazy eye (Amblyopia). If Ptosis is significant, it requires corrective surgery.