Because good vision in childhood is essential to the proper development of vision into adulthood, we created a dedicated center for pediatric patients, the Georgia Lions Children's Eye Care Center. This center cares for children through all phases of diagnosis and treatment. The goal of the physicians at the center is to diagnose and treat childhood eye diseases early before the affected individuals actually lose vision. Contributions from the Georgia Lions have helped fund several important aspects of care provided by the center, including the following initiatives.
1. Genetic Research
Emory helps arrange care for children with blinding eye diseases who have family and financial issues that prevent them from receiving adequate care. For example, children with retinopathy of prematurity, the most common blinding disease in premature infants, often need regular treatments by an ophthalmologist to protect their vision. Issues such as poverty, inadequate insurance, or lack of transportation, some of the same issues that contribute to prematurity, make it difficult for these children to receive adequate eye care. Since there is a small window of time during which these children can be treated successfully to prevent blindness, a coordinator at Emory monitors and assists their parents with transportation and other matters to get them to their follow-up appointments. Since this program was initiated and funded, in part, by the Lions of Georgia, the center has not had a single child lose vision because of neglected follow-up.
2. Program to ensure careful follow-up for children with family or financial issues
Emory helps arrange care for children with blinding eye diseases who have family and financial issues that prevent them from receiving adequate care. For example, children with retinopathy of prematurity, the most common blinding disease in premature infants, often need regular treatments by an ophthalmologist to protect their vision. Issues such as poverty, inadequate insurance, or lack of transportation, some of the same issues that contribute to prematurity, make it difficult for these children to receive adequate eye care. Since there is a small window of time during which these children can be treated successfully to prevent blindness, a coordinator at Emory monitors and assists their parents with transportation and other matters to get them to their follow-up appointments. Since this program was initiated and funded, in part, by the Lions of Georgia, the center has not had a single child lose vision because of neglected follow-up.
3. Specialized treatment for pediatric glaucoma patients
Since it can be tough to get kids to sit still, especially during sensitive medical procedures, specialists at Emory have developed a better way to treat pediatric glaucoma. Glaucoma causes the eye to build up fluid and pressure that can destroy the optic nerve—and vision. With adults, surgeons can open a drainage hole in the wall of the eye and control rapid draining by cutting the sutures one at a time over a period of several weeks with an in-office laser. Because children can't remain motionless during the removal procedures, Emory glaucoma specialists have developed better tools and modified the standard techniques to treat glaucoma. Their procedure is better than conventional methods because it requires only one surgery instead of three and significantly reduces the likelihood of later development of scar tissue and nearsightedness.
4. Technology on the cutting edge
Emory's pediatric ophthalmologists and other specialists utilize advanced treatments for disorders that affect primarily infants and young children. The accomplishments of these experts range from developing new and highly successful surgical treatments for pediatric glaucoma to performing laser treatments for retinopathy of prematurity, a blinding disease of the retina that affects premature babies. Pioneering laboratory research has resulted in the discovery of a gene defect that causes a certain kind of childhood blindness. A new camera at Emory has helped retina specialists better diagnose and treat retinoblastoma, a vision-threatening, life-threatening cancer that strikes infants and young children.
