Squint & Paediatric Eye Care in Dibrugarh

Squint & Paediatric Eye Care

Squint & Paediatric Eye Care in Dibrugarh

Squint, medically called strabismus, is when a child's eyes don't line up and point in the same direction — one eye may drift inward, outward, upward or downward while the other looks straight ahead. Squint and paediatric eye care at Drishti Netralaya is led by Dr. Suvarna Balankhe, trained at the Johns Hopkins Eye Institute in the USA, and covers squint, amblyopia (lazy eye) and a broader range of paediatric vision conditions through vision therapy, prism glasses and, where needed, strabismus surgery.

Our paediatric eye care team provides personalised evaluation and treatment for children with squint, lazy eye, and other vision conditions, with treatment tailored to each child's age, eye health, visual development, and individual needs.
Squint and Paediatric Eye Care in Dibrugarh
Evaluation and treatment of squint (strabismus) in children
Amblyopia or lazy eye assessment and treatment
Vision therapy to support healthy visual development
Prism glasses for selected squint and eye alignment conditions
Strabismus surgery when surgical correction is required

Early assessment of squint and other paediatric eye conditions is important because untreated vision problems can affect the way a child's visual system develops. At Drishti Netralaya, children receive age-appropriate eye evaluation and a personalised treatment plan, helping address eye alignment, lazy eye, and other childhood vision concerns at the right stage of development.

Recognising Squint in Children

Squint doesn't always look dramatic — sometimes it's obvious, while at other times it may only appear occasionally, particularly when a child is tired. Recognising the early signs can help children receive an eye assessment and appropriate treatment at the right stage.

Eye Turning

One eye visibly turning inward, outward, upward or downward, either constantly or now and then, can be a possible sign of squint.

Head Tilting or Turning

A child may consistently tilt or turn their head to look at something. This can sometimes be a way of compensating for problems with eye alignment.

Closing One Eye in Bright Light

Some children may close or cover one eye when they are outdoors or exposed to bright sunlight. This can be an important sign to discuss with a paediatric eye specialist.

Squinting or Frowning to Focus

Frequent squinting or frowning while trying to focus, particularly during close-up activities, may indicate that a child is having difficulty using their eyes together.

Difficulty With Depth Perception

Bumping into things on one side or appearing unusually clumsy may sometimes reflect reduced depth perception associated with problems in how the eyes work together.

Squint can present in different directions, and the direction of the eye turn matters when assessing the underlying condition and deciding on the most appropriate treatment.

Types of Squint

Squint (Strabismus) can manifest in different directions. The type of squint is defined by which way the affected eye turns relative to the straight eye.

Type of Squint Which Way the Eye Turns
Esotropia Inward Sometimes described as "crossed eyes".
Exotropia Outward Sometimes described as "wall-eyed".
Hypertropia Upward
Hypotropia Downward

How Drishti Netralaya Treats Cataract

Two surgical approaches are used, chosen based on how advanced the cataract is, the health of the eye, and the patient's circumstances.

Phacoemulsification (Phaco)

Phaco is the standard approach for most cataracts today. It uses a small, self-sealing incision and ultrasound energy to break up the cloudy lens before replacing it with a foldable intraocular lens (IOL). It is typically stitchless, performed under local anaesthesia as day care, and most patients notice visual improvement within a day or two.

Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery (SICS)

SICS uses a slightly larger, self-sealing incision without ultrasound, making it well suited to denser, long-standing cataracts that may be harder to treat with phaco alone. It is also a more accessible option cost-wise.

Drishti Netralaya runs its own SICS and phaco training fellowship for other ophthalmologists, helping the surgical team remain experienced with both techniques rather than defaulting to one approach.

What to Expect: The Cataract Surgery Process

  • Consultation and eye examination, including a biometry scan to measure the eye and calculate the IOL power
  • Pre-operative checks, including blood sugar levels if you're diabetic
  • Day of surgery: Local anaesthesia (eye drops or a small injection), with the procedure itself usually taking about 10–20 minutes per eye and performed as day care
  • A short rest period at the hospital before being discharged the same day, with eye drops and a protective shield
  • Follow-up visits over the following weeks to check healing and, if needed, update your glasses prescription

Who Should Consider Cataract Surgery

Cataract surgery isn't only for people who can no longer see clearly at all — it's usually recommended once the cloudiness starts interfering with daily activities like reading, driving or recognising faces. Diabetic patients are a particular group to watch, since diabetes can accelerate cataract formation and often coexists with diabetic retinopathy, which is why a dilated retina check is usually done alongside cataract evaluation for anyone with diabetes.

Why Patients Across Upper Assam Choose Drishti Netralaya

Drishti Netralaya has built a strong reputation for cataract care across Upper Assam, combining extensive surgical experience, advanced techniques, trained specialists, and accredited standards of eye care.

Key reasons include:
Cataract-led hospital with more than 1 lakh sight-restoring surgeries performed since 1988, the majority of them cataract procedures
Led by Dr. Ramesh Agarwalla, trained at Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai, and one of the surgeons who introduced phaco surgery to the region, alongside Dr. Liza Kuli as an advanced phaco surgeon
Full NABH accreditation under the Eye Care Organisation (ECO) standard — the only eye hospital in Upper Assam to hold it
A dedicated cataract fellowship programme that trains other ophthalmologists in both SICS and phaco, keeping the hospital's surgical practice current on both techniques

Cataract Consultations Across Dibrugarh, Dhemaji & Machkhowa

Patients from across Upper Assam can access cataract screening and consultation closer to home, with cataract surgery performed at the main Drishti Netralaya hospital in Dibrugarh.

Screening at Dhemaji and Machkhowa

Patients from Dhemaji and Machkhowa do not need to travel to Dibrugarh just to find out whether they have a cataract. Initial consultations, vision checks, and biometry can typically be arranged at the Dhemaji City Center or the Machkhowa Vision Center.

Once the assessment is complete, a suitable surgery date can be planned at the Dibrugarh hospital.

Surgery at the Main Hospital, Dibrugarh

All cataract surgery, whether phaco or SICS, is performed at the main hospital near the Amolapatty railway gate in Dibrugarh, where the operation theatres and dedicated surgical team are based.


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