Recent eye operation rare for Claxton-Hepburn

OGDENSBURG — Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center last week was the site of a delicate eye surgery not performed at the hospital in more than a decade.

Debra A. Koloms, a board-certified ophthalmologist residing and practicing in the Watertown area for the last 10 years, performed surgery to correct an instance of strabismus.
According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, strabismus is a "visual problem in which the eyes are not aligned properly and point in different directions. One eye may look straight ahead, while the other eye turns inward, outward, upward or downward."
She described the 30- to 40-minute procedure as something her colleagues seemingly "don't want to do." She attributed the lack of interest to the young age of typical strabismus patients and to the levels of treatment and follow-up.

"It can be quite involved," Dr. Koloms said.
Patients have been traveling to Syracuse or Burlington, Vt., to receive the proper treatment for strabismus, she said.
She said the procedure entails shortening or lengthening the muscles attached to the young child's eyes, depending on how much the child's eyes are turned.
"It's time-consuming and intensive compared to cataract surgery," she said. "You want to do it when the child is young and the visual system is developing."