Treating young children for severe corneal problems is the most challenging part of the job for leading eye specialist Professor Sunil Shah, but ultimately proves the most rewarding.
A keynote lecture at the BCLA’s latest Evening Meeting outlined the difficulties faced in treating newborn babies and children suffering from conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma and keratoconus.
The consultant eye surgeon said: ‘It can be tough at times. I don’t lose sleep very often, but I do when it comes to extreme corneal problems in children.’
Prof Shah, who is based at the Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre and is a visiting professor at Aston University, delivered the lecture, entitled ‘Kids – they can’t be that difficult can they?’, to provide an overview of corneal problems in children and the challenges faced in dealing with them.
Eye care professionals working in UK hospitals are having to deal with an ever-growing range of conditions and procedures such as blepharoconjunctivitis, congenital cataracts, Peters Plus and keratoplasty.
While some of the conditions are rare, some are much more common and with increasing success rates, these children will be seen by their own optometrists for on-going management rather than relying solely on hospital care.
Cross-linking and immediate referral in keratoconus patients is a particularly vital part of preventing further progression while young glaucoma patients are at a higher risk of graft fracture, with one-year survival rates at just 30 per cent.