Thomas Marvelli MD - Ophthalmologist

Pediatric Ophthalmologist

Your child’s eyesight is precious. Clear vision is important for your child’s successful development. Dr. Marvelli is a pediatric ophthalmologist. He has gone through specialized training which allows him to better understand and treat children with vision problems and diseases of the eye. In addition we have eyeglasses especially designed for children. He and/or an optometrist can exam your child at any of his three locations, Ft Worth, Colleyville, or Mansfield, Texas. Contact Us

A baby’s eyesight develops as the brain matures. This takes about ten years. Although a baby's eyes are capable of seeing, infant vision is around 20/1500, rather then the 20/20 we expect of an adult’s vision Because a child’s visual development differs from an adult's, it is important for children to see a pediatric ophthalmologist when they encounter problems.

There are many ways for a pediatric ophthalmologist to treat children’s eye disorders. Some are a simple as eye patches, and eye exercise. Some conditions necessitate surgery. Dr. Marvelli is trained to find the simplest treatment which suits your child’s problem.

Children can have some of the same problems adults have: cataract, tumor, glaucoma, along with common problems such as a scratched cornea, double vision, and blocked tear ducts. Some eye disorders are specific to children such as retinopathy of pre-maturity. Other ophthalmology problems common to children include strabismus, amblyopia, and ptosis.

Strabismus

Strabismus is a misalignment of the eyes. It is commonly referred to as crossed-eyes and can be constant or intermittent. Children do not grow out of this condition. It can be treated with glasses, muscle exercises, and/or surgery by a pediatric ophthalmologist.

Who is a good candidate for strabismus surgery?

Someone who does not respond to medical treatment.

Preparation before procedure?

Do not eat or drink for 8 hours before hand.

What is experienced during procedure itself?

The procedure is performed under general anesthesia. This allows the child the most comfort possible.

After procedure care and expectations?

Eyes are irritated and may be blood red but this will resolve within a matter of weeks.

Amblyopia

Amblyopia is also known as lazy eye and is a condition where either one or both eyes send a “fuzzy” picture to the brain. The brain then will become conditioned to associate “blurry” vision with that eye if the problem is not found and corrected. Sometimes parents can detect amblyopia if the child moves closer to an object in order to see it or if the eyes are obviously misaligned. Other times the amblyopia is not obvious and can only be detected with screening by a pediatric ophthalmologist. It can be treated with consistent use of glasses or contacts, sometimes drops can be utilized to cause the child to use the other eye, and in the cases where cataracts are the cause of impaired vision, the cataracts must be removed.

Who is a good candidate for cataract surgery?

Patients whose vision is significantly reduced due to cataract, corneal disease, or other diseases that cloud the transmission of the light rays to the back of the eye.

Preparation before procedure?

Do not eat or drink for 8 hours before hand.

What is experienced during procedure itself?

The procedure is performed under general anesthesia. This allows the child the most comfort possible

After procedure care and expectations?

The child’s eye needs to be protected during sleep with an eye shield. Anti-inflammatory and antibiotic eye drops are administered during the day. Eyes can be blood red for weeks afterwards. The speed of the vision recovery depends upon amount of amblyopia present before the procedure.

Ptosis

Ptosis is ”droopy eyelids”. The treatment for this varies and is dependent on the many factors which are involved. In most cases the treatment prescribed by the pediatric ophthalmologist is surgical in nature and surgery depends on type of ptosis.