Squint Surgery

No. This is the question almost every family asks, and the answer is no — the eye stays in place throughout.

Six small muscles move each eye from the outside. The surgeon reaches them through the thin clear skin on the white of the eye, then either moves a muscle further back to weaken its pull or shortens it to strengthen it. Nothing is cut on the black part of the eye, and nothing goes inside the eye. The stitches dissolve on their own.

It depends on how many eye muscles need work, whether one eye or both are operated on, and the type of anaesthesia. We can only give a real figure after examining the eyes.

Please contact the clinic for current pricing.

Usually yes. Squint surgery is not a cosmetic operation — it treats double vision, eye strain and how the two eyes work together. Insurers cover it more easily when there is double vision, lazy eye or an abnormal head posture on record.

Some policies still treat it as cosmetic, especially for adults. Get pre-approval before surgery rather than claiming afterwards. We can provide the medical papers your insurer needs.

You do not feel the operation. Children are asleep under general anaesthesia. Adults may be asleep or awake with numbing, depending on the case.

Afterwards the eye feels gritty and sore — like something is in it — rather than sharply painful. This settles in about a week. Simple painkillers are usually enough.

Most children go back to school in about a week.

The eye stays red much longer. Redness fades over a few weeks, and slight pinkness can last a couple of months. This worries families far more than it should — it is normal healing.

Squint surgery is a safe, well-established operation and most patients get a good result.

Expect a big improvement rather than a guaranteed perfectly straight eye from one operation. Some patients need a second operation to fine-tune it. That is a normal part of squint treatment, and we tell you this before surgery, not after.

Surgery straightens the eyes. It does not make a lazy eye see better.

That is why we treat lazy eye first, with glasses and patching. Surgery then fixes the alignment, stops double vision and improves head posture.

There is no fixed minimum age. Squint present from the first months of life is often operated on early, so the eyes can learn to work together.

The right timing depends on the type of squint, whether it is stable, and whether glasses and patching have been tried — not on age alone.