Efficacy of Occlusion Therapy in Amblyopia : Type, Depth & Timing of Amblyopia

Purpose: To study the effect of occlusion therapy in amblyopia according to the beginning time of occlusion therapy, type and depth of amblyopia. Methods: The total 92 children, who had been treated with occlusion therapy were included in this study. Patients were divided into two groups according to the age when occlusion therapy was started : those with less than 7 years vs 7 years or older. Patients were also divided into three groups according to the type of amblyopia and depth of amblyopia : mild amblyopia with visual acuity 0.6 or more , moderate amblyopia with between 0.2 and 0.5 , and severe amblyopia with 0.1 or less. Results; The children under 7 years old were 58 patients and 7 years or over was 34 patients. In patients less than 7 years, 70.7%o achieved a successful treatment and in patients 7 years or more, 67.6% was in success. There was no significant difference between two groups. Among the moderate and severe amblyopic patients, 72.1% of patients under 7 year-old and of 44.4% of over 7 year-old achieved a successful treatment. According to the type of amblyopia, there was no significant difference between the groups. According to the depth of amblyopia, success rate of occlusion in mild, moderate and severe amblyopia was 80.6%, 67.9%, and 37.5% respectively. Conclusions: The success rate was higher in younger group than. older group in moderate and severe amblyopia. The depth of amblyopia affected the final visual outcome, and occlusion therapy was more effective in less severe amblyopia.