need help plz

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i am 6 year medical student and i am intersted in optho but i have lazy eye 6/18 will it interfer with my career or not hope someone could help thanx

Originally Posted by paypack

i am 6 year medical student and i am intersted in optho but i have lazy eye 6/18 will it interfer with my career or not hope someone could help thanx

You mean you have amblyopia? Yes, it would interfere because when you look at a patient's eye with a slit lamp for example a normal person would get binocular fusion and be able to discern structures in 3-D while your amblyopic eye might get suppressed. Also, in the USA ophthalmology is more surgery based so yes it would interfere with microsurgery a lot in the same way.

:/..... I have amblyopia. Would this keep me out of an ophthalmology residencies? (or any residency requiring the use of scopes for that matter). Is this something that would keep me out if I was fortunate enough to pursue the field? ... I would really like an honest answer, as this could change a lot of aspirations for me :/.. Thanks in advance.

-Ar2

How much amblyopia? Have you been tested for your stereo acuity? Without that information, it would be difficult for anyone to give you a useful opinion.

Originally Posted by orbitsurgMD

How much amblyopia? Have you been tested for your stereo acuity? Without that information, it would be difficult for anyone to give you a useful opinion.

As an aside, what stereo acuity testing or other visual testing should I expect from programs where I interview? Something like a stereo fly test? Do programs require you to perform stereoacuity tests uncorrected or are glasses/contacts allowed?

I've heard that there will be testing, but my colleagues and I are unsure of what to expect.

My stereoacuity was horrible when I first used the Randot squares and the Wirt Circles (~80 seconds of arc) but I seemed to have trained it and got it down to around 30" or 40". I didn't do a controlled experiment to see if I really gained this but subjectively I think I have. Maybe you can train yourself a bit? I haven't learned the neural pathways if this is possible, yet.

i need to clarify that my amblyobic eye is squinting and i intend to correct it with surgery if so can i gain binocular vision with training? thx for help in advance

Originally Posted by paypack

i need to clarify that my amblyobic eye is squinting and i intend to correct it with surgery if so can i gain binocular vision with training? thx for help in advance

You will not get binocular vision back after surgery.

If your medical school is affiliated with an ophthalmology department,
ask one of the techs/residents to test your ability for binocular vision
(very discreetly). Better yet, if the residents have a wet lab, go try to
suture/make incisions/capsulorrhexis under a microscope. You will
then have your answer.

As for the other poster in regards to interviews. Some will screen before interviews,
but most will not. Few programs will directly test your binocular vision at the interviews.
But, you really need to find out how much binocular vision you have. If you match, you
will be putting yourself in a tough situation if you have poor binocular vision. It is not
good for patients, and will not be good for your surgical confidence or self-esteem.
Once you are in practice, I am sure your vision would be scrutinized in any cases of
poor outcomes/lawsuits. You still have a chance to pursue another specialty.

Originally Posted by guttata

You will not get binocular vision back after surgery.

If your medical school is affiliated with an ophthalmology department,
ask one of the techs/residents to test your ability for binocular vision
(very discreetly). Better yet, if the residents have a wet lab, go try to
suture/make incisions/capsulorrhexis under a microscope. You will
then have your answer.

As for the other poster in regards to interviews. Some will screen before interviews,
but most will not. Few programs will directly test your binocular vision at the interviews.
But, you really need to find out how much binocular vision you have. If you match, you
will be putting yourself in a tough situation if you have poor binocular vision. It is not
good for patients, and will not be good for your surgical confidence or self-esteem.
Once you are in practice, I am sure your vision would be scrutinized in any cases of
poor outcomes/lawsuits. You still have a chance to pursue another specialty.

Hi, i too have a similar problem. Hypermetropic amblyopia 6/18 in one and 6/6 in other eye. Our college opthalmologist suggested to avoid microsurgeries and anything which requires the use of microscopes. I want to know, if considering a speciality like general surgery, orthopedics, obstetrics would be okie, or will there be any problems in future?

Sometimes if the ot light is too bright, i used to have some problem in taking sutures, but was almost alright when the glare was reduced...I'm a bit worried because, i like surgical fields, but after taking it, if there's a problem, i'll have to repeat... please advice

In ophthalmology, depth perception is extremely important, especially in surgery. So it's hard to imagine performing procedures without it. Becoming good at surgery is hard enough without an impediment.

As far as other procedural fields go, any surgery that you're doing while looking at a 2-dimensional screen -- Interventional radiology, laparoscopic procedures, sinus surgery, etc. -- obviously doesn't need depth perception. I don't think you need to rule out all procedures because of amblyopia.


On a peripherally related note, I just read a pretty amazing story about a medical student with Lebers:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7318398/.../#.T5tUoc2GNe4

I think he went into psychiatry.

We all know some one-eyed ophthalmologists that seem to be excellent. However, microsurgery is very different than orthopedic surgery. I feel you need very little stereo vision to replace a knee. Performing microsurgery on a hand is a different story.

To be honest, I feel it is incredibly difficult to say one person will struggle with microsurgery prior to starting ophthalmology (no matter what the visual performance tests say). Even more challenging is the fact that one is 2-3 years into a training program before the bulk of cases are obtained (a lot of time invested before one learns they cannot do something). Again, however, some people struggle with microsurgery despite perfect stereo vision.

To graduate as and ophthalmologists in 2012, a training program says you are competent in surgery – this is something else to consider.