Prospect
Fort Collins at Prospect
1725 E. Prospect Rd.
Fort Collins, CO 80525
Fort Collins, CO 80525
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Development of the visual system occurs from birth through the first ten years of life. Ideally, children should have their first eye exam when they're around 3 ½ years old, and an exam at any age if a problem is suspected. Having a complete eye exam will help diagnose vision problems without any symptoms, and vision problems in infants and toddlers who are not able to verbalize their frustrations. At the Eye Center of Northern Colorado, your child's complete examination will help detect and treat any potential problems with their vision, including amblyopia (lazy eye), strabismus (misalignment of the eyes), significant refractive errors, or congenital cataracts. Early detection is vital to correcting these problems and others before they result in permanent damage.
Dr. Patrick Arnold is the Eye Center of Northern Colorado’s fellowship-trained ophthalmologist. Dr. Arnold is the only full-time specialist in pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus in Northern Colorado. He and his excellent pediatric team are the best choice for your family and your child’s eye care needs.
Orthoptist
"If you have a baby with eye problems, this is the place to go and Dr. Patrick Arnold is the man to see. Our nine-month-old son has exotropia and today he had the surgery to help fix it. Everything went as perfectly as any parent sending their baby into surgery could possibly hope for."
- Ashlie S.
There are many different health care providers and professionals in the eye care field, many of whose professions begin with the letter "O." Here's a breakdown of the people you may encounter.
Treatment of childhood eye diseases and vision problems is most successful at early ages and may include glasses, patching, eye drops, or surgery. Here are some of the most common problems children can have with their eyes.
The pediatric surgeons at the Eye Center of Northern Colorado also perform eye muscle surgery on adults when they have eye conditions similar to those they experienced in childhood (such as strabismus), or new conditions they've acquired, like diplopia (double vision).
At the pre-operative appointment, measurements will be taken to determine how much surgery to do and on which eye muscle(s). Eye muscle surgery at the Eye Center is performed under general anesthesia to reduce discomfort and pain. The surgery typically takes an hour or less and often requires one of more small, dissolvable sutures on the white part of the eye.
There are a few restrictions following eye muscle surgery. We want to try to keep the eye clean and dry, which means there is no swimming for two weeks and you'll want to avoid getting water in the eye when showering. We will prescribe an eye drop or ointment to use several times per day for 1-2 weeks following surgery, which will prevent any infection and help keep the eye comfortable.
The white part of the eye is often very red following surgery, and in adults, this often persists for about two weeks. There is very minimal scarring on the white part of the eye following eye muscle surgery, usually only visible under a microscope.
