After a premature infant receives major treatment such as a corneal transplant, cataract surgery; or retinal procedure for ROP, corrective eyewear is not only essential, but ongoing. Without early and continued optical correction, vision will not develop, and the child will become blind.

Fit for a princess

Born two months early, weighing only 1 lb. 9 oz., tiny Princess Harris was immediately besieged with health risks: three surgeries, a staph infection, and influenza, to name just a few. Examining Princess, Emory Eye Center’s pediatric ophthalmologist Scott Lambert also diagnosed “accommodative esotropia,” an inward turning of the eye that causes the eyes to cross. For this condition, there’s a proven treatment: eyeglasses.

Princess needed glasses right away. What many people don’t realize is that for a baby whose eyes are developing and growing so rapidly, the initial pair of glasses is just that: initial. Within a few weeks, Princess had to come in for a prescription review. A few weeks after that, she was due back again. A few weeks further on, another trip to the Eye Center. And every time her exam indicates a change in her eyes, she has to have new glasses.

The process contains another hitch as well. To avoid the risk of eventual blindness, babies with serious eye problems should start wearing the lenses without delay. That’s easier said than done. Like Princess, most pediatric patients depend on Medicaid, which pays for only one set of corrective lenses per year. Delivery of an eyeglass order can take as long as six weeks; and the glasses, once received, often arrive with incorrectly sized frames.

Emory Eye Center’s response

The Eye Center has taken decisive steps help families caught in this situation. We offer the lenses at cost and do not seek a profit. We work closely with the Georgia Lions Lighthouse, which provides limited supplemental funds. For our most critical cases, we’ve established our “source of last resort,” the Children’s Eyeglass Fund. Thanks to our donors, this source helps—but we are seeing more and more premature infants whose eyes urgently require correction, and the need is always greater than our ability to meet it.

When Princess finally went home from her long stay at the hospital, she was wearing her new eyeglasses. Her mom, Laquisha Harris, now says proudly, “She’s very strong and very smart, and she notices everything—especially people.”

Noticing people is something Emory Eye Center does well, too. And whenever we notice a vision problem—in even the tiniest person—we do everything in our power to relieve it.

Article from Emory Eye, Summer 2008, pp. 16-17