Itai, a toddler of about 3 years old, arrived at the pediatric emergency room at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem following an injury he sustained to his right eye. However, after a series of tests and the eye's recovery, it became clear that his vision remained very poor, almost to the point of blindness.
The reason: a severe case of childhood amblyopia that had not been diagnosed until now. The rapid diagnosis and identification led to a personalized treatment plan, which led to a significant improvement in his vision.
Itay arrived at the medical center suffering from a scratched cornea and minor bleeding in the eye, following an accidental injury he sustained from a piece of plastic flying from a scythe in the home garden.
His initial examinations, led by Dr. Yaki Caspi, an ophthalmologist, revealed that his vision in his right eye was very poor, so that he was unable to identify numbers on a blackboard. Initially, without evidence of another cause, the team attributed the decrease in vision to the direct damage from the assault, and he was treated accordingly and released for continued daily monitoring.
However, three days after the incident, the parents and Itai came to Shaare Tzedek once again, and then the full picture became clear: although the signs of the injury had passed, Itai's visual acuity remained very poor and did not improve at all, while his vision in his left eye was normal.
Immediately upon identifying the problem, Itay was referred for an in-depth and comprehensive examination in the medical center's eye department and for treatment by Dr. Achia Nemat, an ophthalmology specialist in the pediatric unit under the direction of Dr. Tamar Shafran. The tests included advanced imaging such as corneal mapping and retinal photography, alongside various specialized tests that led to the diagnosis: Itay has suffered from a severe case of lazy eye since birth and actually only sees shadows in his right eye.
Dr. Caspi says: "Fortunately for Itay, we quickly recognized that he could not see in the eye without any connection to the injury. He had a real miracle and coincidence. The injury that occurred by chance in the lazy eye led to the identification of the problem, which saved his sight. If it were not for the injury, along with the rapid diagnosis and identification, Itay would have suffered severe, permanent and irreversible damage to his vision.".
Following the diagnosis, a treatment plan was developed for Itai, which included fitting glasses and using an eye patch on the healthy eye.
The results of the treatment led to an extraordinary improvement in Itay's vision within just one month - he was able to identify small numbers on the board, and the expectation is that the improvement trend will continue.
Dr. Nemet adds: "Young children often do not know how to indicate a vision difficulty. In many cases, a dominant eye compensates for the weak one, and the child functions completely normally without the parents or educational staff suspecting anything. In such a situation in young children, the brain learns to ignore the weak eye and it becomes a lazy eye - one that in the future will not be able to see even with appropriate glasses.".
Oral, Itay's mother, says: "Itay never complained, rode a bike and functioned completely normally. I have nine children, and I always made sure to have everyone get their vision checked in Tiptet Halav, which is how we discovered that some of the children needed glasses. Because of the war with Iran, we didn't complete Itay's examination - and that was critical.
""When the doctors told us that Itay could not see in one eye even though the injury had healed - we were simply shocked and upset to realize that he was born like this and lived this way. Because of the long period of time he had not seen, there was a fear that he would not be able to see even with glasses. But the doctors committed suicide on Itay's eye, and did every possible test. They fitted him with glasses and it was a moment like in the movies - he suddenly said to me: 'Mom, I can see.'.
""I want to tell all parents – don't neglect the tests at Tift Halav, even if there are difficulties. We still have a long way to go, but thanks to the amazing teams at Shaare Zedek – my child was saved from blindness. Be sure to get the tests before it's too late.".
Dr. Nemat and Dr. Caspi: "We recommend that every parent have their children ages one, three, and five have an eye exam at Tipit Halav or with a pediatric ophthalmologist to ensure that vision development is normal. Even in the absence of underlying diseases, family history, or complaints from the child, it is very important to get tested.".
