Surgery for crossed eyes not just for kids

A U.S. ophthalmologist says a widely held belief -- that surgery to fix crossed eyes is just for kids -- is not true and adults can benefit from such surgery. Dr. James McDonnell, an ophthalmologist at Loyola University Medical Center, said many adults with strabismus have had the condition all their lives, while others have it as a result of such conditions as stroke, tumor or brain injury. Patients are given many reasons why they shouldn't get treatment -- such as strabismus can only be corrected by a certain age; they would outgrow the problem; they would need another surgery or, if they had undergone a previous surgery nothing further could be done. Some patients are told insurance won't cover the procedure, McDonnell said. "None of these things are true," he said in a statement. "This type of misinformation can come from friends, family doctors and even ophthalmologists and optometrists." McDonnell said he has performed corrective surgeries on patients ranging in age from infancy to past 90, with excellent outcomes -- and in addition to restoring normal appearance, the surgery also can improve depth perception and eliminate double vision or eye strain. "Our goal is to restore patients' eyes to a normal functional alignment so they can use their eyes together to the best of their ability," he said.