A binocular approach to amblyopia
John Abbondanza
Boston College, USA
: Int J Ophthalmic Pathol
Abstract
Amblyopia is the leading cause of unilateral vision loss in children. The vision loss found in the amblyopic eye includes deficits not only in visual acuity, but also in pursuit and saccadic eye movements, contrast sensitivity, accommodative skill, and suppression. There are a variety of treatments available to improve vision. Patching has been the mainstay of treatment for many years and the evidence-based protocol has been outlined by the PEDIG studies. Patching alone, however, does not always effectively deal with all of the visual deficits associated with amblyopia, especially the suppression of the amblyopic eye under binocular viewing conditions. Recent publications have discussed an alternative approach to the treatment of amblyopia, one that emphasizes a binocular approach which more effectively deals with suppression. The purpose of this presentation is to review recent literature on this binocular approach to amblyopia and describe how it may be incorporated into a more comprehensive treatment program for patients with amblyopia.
Biography
