What specialties should someone with amblyopia eliminate right off the bat?

[TheIllusionist]

I am a rising M3, and I have amblyopia. I underwent patching treatment as a child, from the ages of 5 to 11. My vision improved from 20/400 to 20/70 in my bad eye (without correction). My good eye is currently 20/25. I do not have binocular depth perception. I drive just fine, and I can do everyday tasks pretty well. It doesn't seem to affect for stuff like racket sports. What specialties can I absolutely not do? Which ones will I have limitations in? When in a rotation, if anytime at all, should I tell my rotation head about my disability?

Clarification:

My amblyopia is not due to strabismus. From what I gather, it is due to neural circuitry issues.

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[number22]

I'm guessing surgical specialties, and that's about it?

edit : then again there was a post about a one eyed surgeon, so idk if it matters!

 

[radkat101]

I am a rising M3, and I have amblyopia. I underwent patching treatment as a child, from the ages of 5 to 11. My vision improved from 20/400 to 20/70 in my bad eye (without correction). My good eye is currently 20/25. I do not have binocular depth perception. I drive just fine, and I can do everyday tasks pretty well. It doesn't seem to affect for stuff like racket sports. What specialties can I absolutely not do? Which ones will I have limitations in? When in a rotation, if anytime at all, should I tell my rotation head about my disability?

Clarification:

My amblyopia is not due to strabismus. From what I gather, it is due to neural circuitry issues.

Really shouldn't affect you for anything in medicine. I have the same thing except I wasn't patched and still have 20/200 in my bad eye that I don't even correct for. I do wear glasses to make sure my good eye is always functioning at 20/20, and I notice some unique issues with depth perception from time to time (I can't hit a golf ball for example) but I've never even thought about it on a rotation, surgery included. I think our brain just learns to work with the eye it's got.

 

[hopeful123456789]

Hello, so I can't really answer this question for you, but since I have the same condition (slight amblyopia due to strabismus). I have done a little research to find some info on this. Overall the consensus seems to be that we would be fine in every medical or non-procedural specialty. If you are interested in a surgical specialty things get a little more complex. Everyone agreed that we "should" be okay if we are able to compensate the loss of depth perception well- this is usually the case, if the condition is longstanding. Some surgical subspecialties would be more problematic, especially those that are heavy on microsurgery. So overall you might find out that you are a bit more limited in your choices but probably not as much as you think right now. I myself am interested in orthopedic surgery and so far all my mentors have encouraged me to just try and see how I do. There are a lot of threads on this topic here, so it might help you to read some of them. In her answer to my question about this @OrthoTraumaMD said she had a colleague with strabismus who today is an excellent surgeon. I think this example is a powerful motivation to go for the specialty you want to do most. All the best to you!

 

[ortnakas]

Ophthalmology might be out, I’m not sure.

Some of the surgical fields that utilize microsurgery and/or the fancy instrumentation for visualization might be difficult but still doable. Same with pathology— you could definitely do it, but looking through a microscope all day might be difficult to do or be hard on your vision.

I’m not sure that you need to rule those out but even if you do that still leaves A LOT of fields open to you. You will be okay.

 

[CherryRedDracul]

I have amblyopia.

Using an ophthalmoscope is annoying with amblyopia, so I quickly ruled that out.

My depth perception is fine as there are several monocular cues available to perceive depth. I can throw a baseball, shoot a basketball, kick a soccer ball, suture incisions and biopsy deep structures with accuracy without a problem. I went into radiology, and I'm apparently one of the faster residents in my class.

 

[TheIllusionist]

I have amblyopia.

Using an ophthalmoscope is annoying with amblyopia, so I quickly ruled that out.

My depth perception is fine as there are several monocular cues available to perceive depth. I can throw a baseball, shoot a basketball, kick a soccer ball, suture incisions and biopsy deep structures with accuracy without a problem. I went into radiology, and I'm apparently one of the faster residents in my class.

Thanks. I wasn't allowed to play baseball, when I was younger. The others I was.