Orthoptic therapy is a sub-specialty of optometry. Optometrists that provide orthoptic therapy in their offices should have advanced clinical training and qualifications. Although most vision problems can very easily be corrected using eyeglasses or contact lenses, some problems require more sophisticated treatment. Problems such as eyeteaming, focusing and tracking disorders are not optical and cannot be corrected with eyeglasses. Rather, they are muscle type problems and require orthoptic therapy.
Orthoptic therapy can sometimes be helpful before or after strabismus surgery.
Before surgery, orthoptic therapy can help equalize the vision in both eyes and prepare the eyes to work together. After the surgeon straightens the eyes, orthoptic therapy can sometimes be helpful in stabilizing the alignment of the eyes. Adults can also benefit from orthoptic therapy if they are experiencing eyestrain, headaches and inability to perform well at work and have eyeteaming and focusing problems. These problems commonly effect adults working with computers. Here the patient's care is managed by both a pediatric ophthalmologist, Dr. Lee Klombers , and a pediatric optometrist, Dr. Mitchell Scheiman .