Thoothukudi
A first-of-its-kind medical camp for correction of cross-eyes and ptosis started at the Thoothukudi Medical College Hospital on Monday.
Collector Sandeep Nanduri inaugurated the five-day camp, which would go on till Friday. He said that steps would be taken under the child welfare scheme to identify children affected by the condition in the district, and corrective treatment according to doctors’ recommendations would be taken using the Child Welfare Fund. Similar camps would be conducted across the district, he added.
Dr. R. Kumaraswamy, district programme manager, District Blindness Control Society, said that corrective treatment should be taken as soon as possible. “The earlier you treat, the better,” he says. “If left untreated, vision may reduce and may result in amblyopia (lazy eye).”
Even if some vision loss has occurred, orthoptic exercises after undergoing surgery would help in restoring the vision, he added.
He said that some children, who are detected with the condition at birth, can be taken for surgery as soon as they are fit for administering anaesthesia.