Q: My daughter was born with cataract in both eyes. She was operated at the age of 3 months and a lens was implanted in the eyes. She is 5 years old now and has vision problems. She has to go very near the television and holds a book very close to her face in order to see the pictures or words. Is there any other medical treatment to help her see better?

A:A child's eyes grow constantly. The lens power calculated for implantation in infancy would not be the same as required in an eye at 5 years or 10 years of age. Hence, it is of utmost importance that the glass power of both eyes are checked every 6 months and the correct glass power be used every time to maintain reasonably good vision in both eyes. Rarely, if need be, the lens implanted into the eye may need to be changed for a different power to avoid heavy glasses for the child. The operating surgeon should be able to rectify the problem that you have described. Also, if the eyes are lazy because of the cataract from birth, we need to alternately patch the eyes in a fixed schedule to promote visual improvement before the age of 10 years, beyond which it can be too late.