Pediatric Eye Surgery — Michigan

When surgery is the right answer — and when it isn't.

Most of what we do is non-surgical. When surgery is the right path, Dr. Vredevoogd has been performing pediatric eye surgery for over 20 years, with hospital privileges at Zeeland Community Hospital, Spectrum Health, and Holland Hospital. Surgery is almost always considered after non-surgical options have been tried or ruled out — not first.

Surgeries we perform

• Strabismus surgery — adjusting the length or position of the eye muscles to align the eyes. Outpatient; usually at Zeeland Community Hospital or Spectrum Health. Recovery is quick — most kids are back to normal activity within a day or two.
• Nasolacrimal duct probing — opening a blocked tear duct. In-office probing for younger babies with topical anesthesia; under brief general anesthesia at the hospital for older or more complex cases. See Tear Duct Obstruction.
• Periorbital lesions — removal of chalazia, dermoid cysts, and similar lid / orbital lesions.
• Trauma repair — depending on the injury; some we manage directly, others we coordinate with oculoplastic or retinal specialists.
• Other procedures — including intraocular surgery for select conditions and examinations under anesthesia when a thorough exam in an awake child isn't possible.

What the day looks like

Most pediatric eye surgery is outpatient at one of our partner hospitals. You arrive in the morning, we go over everything one more time, your child gets general anesthesia (kids don't sit still for eye surgery), the procedure itself is typically 30–90 minutes, and most children are home by mid-afternoon. You'll have post-op drops for a week or two and a follow-up with us a few days later.

Before we commit to surgery

We take time to discuss alternatives, realistic outcomes, and what the recovery looks like for your specific child. Surgery has tradeoffs. Our job is to lay them out honestly so you can make the call with eyes open. If a non-surgical path is reasonable, we'll usually try it first.

Anesthesia

Pediatric eye surgery almost always requires general anesthesia. We work with pediatric anesthesiologists at our partner hospitals who do this all day. Risks of modern pediatric general anesthesia are small; we'll cover them thoroughly at the pre-op visit and you can ask the anesthesiologist directly on the day of surgery.