Pediatrics: The Fitting Process
At approximately 4-6 weeks following enucleation the process
begins with a consultation, which provides an opportunity for your child to become personally aquainted with our Ocularist.
We are sensitive to the needs of each family and will do our best to fully explain what will take place during your visits to our office. It is important for the Ocularist and parents to limit their expectations of what will be accomplished during the first visit. It is common to expect three to four visits to complete a Prosthesis. One-day service is available to those traveling a far distance to our office.
Follow up visits for infants and toddlers receiving a prosthetic eye are scheduled approximately every four months. This of course is tailored to the individual.
Enlargement or replacement of the first artificial eye for an infant may be required in a year or less. This mainly due to growth and color change during the first two years of life. It is often possible to enlarge the prosthetic if only minor changes are required. This defers the need for a completely new prosthetic eye for at least some period of time.
Between the ages of two thru five, annual replacements are common, but again not always necessary, mainly depending on the amount of tissue settlement in the eye socket and growth of the child. At approximately age three, follow up visits to the Ocularist may be reduced to every six months.
From age 6 thru 12, replacements are required even less frequently. In this age category, it is more common to keep the same Prosthesis for two or more years, using the enlargement option in between. However, the patient should still continue with follow- up visits every six months.