Peds

[Primate]

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I've been doing my peds rotation and everyone keeps saying that kids are not just small adults, that they have their own diseases/disorders/issues/problems that are distinct from those in adult medicine.

My question is if this is the case in pediatric ophtho. There are more muscle surgeries, from what I understand, but is the body of knowledge needed to be a good peds ophtho DIFFERENT from what you'd need for adults? Is a peds muscle surg different (significantly) from an adult one? Are the diseases different?

Thanks (I should probably thank OMP in advance, since I can hear him typing an answer already - thank goodness!).

P

 

[Andrew_Doan]

Originally posted by Primate
I've been doing my peds rotation and everyone keeps saying that kids are not just small adults, that they have their own diseases/disorders/issues/problems that are distinct from those in adult medicine.

My question is if this is the case in pediatric ophtho. There are more muscle surgeries, from what I understand, but is the body of knowledge needed to be a good peds ophtho DIFFERENT from what you'd need for adults? Is a peds muscle surg different (significantly) from an adult one? Are the diseases different?

Thanks (I should probably thank OMP in advance, since I can hear him typing an answer already - thank goodness!).

P

Primate,

There's more to peds than "muscle" surgeries. There are numerous congenital and non-congenital ophthalmological diseases that are unique to children and need the attention of a knowledgeable pediatric ophthalmologist. Several diseases that come to mind are: congenital glaucoma, retinoblastoma, persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous (PHPV), congenital cataracts, and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).

Yes, the diseases are unique to peds and need considerable knowledge and experience beyond knowing what muscles to move. I suggest you pick up a pediatric ophthalmology test. The one produced by the AAO for the BCSC series is over 450 pages long, and it's not discussing just muscle surgeries. 🙂