Israeli ophthalmologists have accumulated vast experience over the past few decades: modern methods of treating amblyopia (lazy eye) in Israel include a wide range of activities aimed at improving the functions of the affected eye through direct occlusion, visual therapy, and the use of the brain's neuroplastic capabilities. Therefore, the treatment of amblyopia (lazy eye) in Israel is considered the most effective and successful.
At the Top Ihilov clinic, visual therapy techniques are used with various lenses, prisms, filters, occluders, other specialized tools, and computer programs. A complex of eye exercises is tailored individually and may include exercises aimed at improving peripheral vision, color perception, visual acuity, etc.
Treatment methods for amblyopia (lazy eye) in Israel
There are several types of amblyopia – deprivation, refractive, and strabismic. Each differs slightly in therapy methods.
- In cases of strabismus, the main focus is on correction using glasses, occluding the healthy eye – temporarily wearing a patch occluder on the eye, which stimulates the "lagging" eye. Medications that temporarily relax the muscles of the healthy eye may also be used for this purpose. Correction of the position of the eyeball in strabismus can be performed using surgical techniques.
- In amblyopia caused by refractive errors, the main goal is to correct anisometropia (a visual disorder where the eye providing a clearer image becomes the "leading" one). Correction is achieved through the use of contact lenses, and if conventional methods do not yield the desired results, surgical vision correction using laser technologies such as LASEK, LASIK, etc. is performed.
- Deprivation and occlusion amblyopia arise due to disturbances in the transparency of the eye's internal optical medium – congenital cataracts and other pathologies. If such a pathology is not treated at an early age, amblyopia may persist even after the transparency of the eye's optical medium is restored.
- In general, therapy for all types of lazy eye includes temporary artificial occlusion of the healthy eye, as well as local medication treatment. Occlusion consists of wearing a patch that covers the eye for 4-6 hours a day for no longer than 2 months (longer courses of occlusion are ineffective). Although amblyopia therapy is most effective in children under 8-10 years old, adolescents and adults also show certain progress in treating this pathology.
- According to statistics collected by specialists at the Top Ihilov clinic, the use of visual therapy is especially effective in childhood: patients who combine wearing an occluder with special eye exercises demonstrate improvement in visual acuity 4 times more often than children who do not receive appropriate therapy.
- Certain successes are also observed in the innovative field of lazy eye therapy using virtual reality programs – interactive two-dimensional and three-dimensional games that transmit stereo images to the brain, allowing for the improvement of the functions of the "lagging" eye. Ophthalmologists at Top Ihilov closely monitor the latest global achievements in this area, particularly attempts to use transcranial magnetic stimulation for treating amblyopia. In some cases, this therapy can lead to improvements in contrast and visual acuity of the "lazy" eye.
Diagnosis of amblyopia (lazy eye) in Israel
Numerous patients coming for amblyopia diagnosis in our country confirm that lazy eye is detected quickly and professionally at Top Ihilov, with most examinations taking from 3 to 4 days.
First day – initial diagnostic stage, consultation
The complex of diagnostic activities begins on the first day of the patient's stay in the country. At the airport, a curator-translator meets them, with whom the patient goes to stay temporarily in a hotel, and then proceeds to the clinic for a consultation with the leading ophthalmologist.
Second day – dedicated to various clarifying tests and studies
- Visual acuity testing using standard charts (Snellen, Sivtsev, etc.).
- A series of tests aimed at detecting amblyopia in small children, who for objective reasons cannot be diagnosed using charts: tracking an object with one eye closed, etc.
- Tests for stereoscopic vision allow for the exclusion of strabismus as a cause of amblyopia.
- Double refraction studies can detect amblyopia associated with strabismus at the earliest stages, including in small children.
- Fundus examination and slit lamp examination are used to identify organic disorders of the visual organ.
Third day – a panel of doctors formulates a therapy program
The final day of diagnosis is dedicated to analyzing its results and selecting treatment methods. This is handled by a team of ophthalmologists led by the leading specialist. Thus, the diagnosis of amblyopia (lazy eye) in Israel is always infallible and highly accurate, which ensures a competent choice of therapy scheme.
Treatment of amblyopia (lazy eye) in Israel – prices
Even a cursory analysis of prices shows that the treatment of amblyopia (lazy eye) in Israel is more affordable than treatment of the same high level in clinics in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union. In many cases, savings can reach 45%.
Year after year, the flow of foreign patients wishing to undergo treatment for amblyopia (lazy eye) in Israel increases: reviews from other patients who have already undergone vision correction at Top Ihilov lead them to this choice, as they unequivocally speak of the high level of qualification of Israeli ophthalmologists and the excellent equipment of our clinic.
Why Top Ihilov is a clinic that ranks highly
- Doctors with a high level of training who have specialized in leading ophthalmological centers in the USA and Europe.
- The ophthalmology department of the clinic is equipped with modern equipment that allows for accurate diagnosis of the disease, even in the youngest children.
- The latest methods – visual therapy, special training computer programs. The combination of such innovations with already proven effective conventional treatment methods ensures unparalleled results.
- Patients at the clinic stay in comfortable rooms during therapy and benefit from the services of a personal curator (who is responsible for document translation, coordination of doctors and medical staff, solving everyday issues, etc.).