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64
Of these 75 cases, in 12 I am practically certain that the
power of fusion and binocular vision will be recovered. 21 I
consider hopeless as far as prospect of the use of the two eyes
together is concerned.
In most of these I have advised the parents to wait till
the children are about 1 6 years old and then take them to an
Ophthalmic Hospital, with a view of having a cosmetic operation
performed to put the squinting eye straight and remove
the deformity. I hope that we will be able, by glasses, and
other means when necessary, to effect a cure in a large proportion
of the remaining 40 cases.
These cases will require careful watching and treatment
prolonged over many months The fact that we get so many
of these cases during the first year of school life is very
gratifying, and shows that the teachers appreciate the
necessity of wasting no time before starting treatment, yet
it is unfortunate that we cannot get many earlier. A child
usually starts squinting about two or three, and therefore
much valuable time is lost between that and the first school
attendance.
The proportion of cures would be much greater if one
got hold of the children as soon as the squint is noticed. I
believe that it would be quite the exception to fail to effect a
cure if treatment were applied at that early date. Ignorance
is here the great evil. The opinion is prevalent, not only
among the lower classes, but some of the medical profession,
that a child may grow out of a squint. The consequence of
this is disastrous.