Baby, 1, born without eyes undergoes ‘socket stretching’ so he can have prosthetics implanted
A North Carolina baby born without eyes is undergoing surgery to stretch the eye socket so he can get prosthetics.
Tate Walker, now one, of Reidsville, has anophthalmia, a genetic condition that prevents the eyes from developing in the womb. Doctors missed the problem while his mother was pregnant with him.
The young boy was only diagnosed a day after birth when he would not open his eyelids. His father, Ryan, said the diagnosis was like a “punch in the gut,” but the family is now raising money for his health insurance and eye socket surgeries.
Tate is currently undergoing therapy with doctors stretching his eye sockets by gradually inserting bigger balls to aid and hopefully build up their development
Doctors normally stretch the eye sockets by gradually inserting larger balls into them, encouraging the sockets to widen and not close. Tate is below
Tate Walker, one year old and from North Carolina, was born without his eyes. It is due to the condition anophthalmia, which can be caused by genetic problems
The baby is pictured above with parents Jahavier, 25, and Ryan, 29. They are raising money to cover their son’s surgery
Anophthalmia is a rare condition, affecting only one in every 100,000 babies born in the US each year.
It is caused by a disruption in the development of the optic vesicles around the fourth week of pregnancy, which eventually turn into the optic cups and the various parts that make up the eyeball.
The disruption could be caused by genetics – as in Tate’s case – or by environmental factors such as exposure to high levels of mercury or lead.
Sufferers can be born without eyeballs or with remnants of eye tissue behind the eyelids.
They may also have much smaller eye sockets than normal, making it difficult to fit prosthetics.
No treatment can bring eyes back, with doctors focusing instead on giving babies prosthetics to help them live relatively normal lives.
An eye prosthesis is generally made of plastic and will not restore a person’s vision. However, it will make their face look more normal and help the face develop properly.
Doctors say children with the condition have a relatively normal life expectancy, provided they have no other underlying conditions.
Tate was born without issue in December 2021, but after that the newborn appeared ‘swollen’ and ‘difficulty opening his eyes’.
Doctors told parents Jahavier, 25, and Ryan, 29, that the swelling would subside in 12 hours and that Tate would then open his eyes.
But when this didn’t happen, the then-day-old scan went for scans that revealed he had the condition anophthalmia.
Mr Walker, who works in the shipping industry, said of the diagnosis: ‘It was such a shock when we found out.
“All his x-rays and ultrasounds came back clear. There was nothing on the scans, nothing on the bloodwork.
“He was a little swollen when he came out and they said it would go away on its own in 10 to 12 hours.
“They said once he calmed down he would probably open his eyes. The swelling subsided, but he could never open his eyes.
“At 9 p.m. the next night, they told us he was born without eyes.
“It was like a punch in the stomach. We knew nothing about this [and] had never heard of such a thing.’
He added, “It was very hard to hear, especially because it was so unexpected.”
Mr Walker said his son is now seeing a vision and hearing therapist to help the baby navigate the world without being able to see.
He is scheduled to have surgery within the next ten months where doctors will place prosthetic eyes that would aid in appearance and ensure the face develops properly.
The baby is currently having his eye sockets dilated before undergoing surgery to implant prostheses. Sockets can be widened by placing progressively larger balls where the eyeball would be
The parents described their son as “happy-go-lucky” and said he was giggling or laughing most of the time
The youngster is currently having his eye sockets stretched, a procedure that normally involves fitting a baby’s eye sockets with progressively larger balls to encourage them to dilate to fit a prosthesis.
This happened for Izabella Myers, who suffers from microphthalmia, from Pennsylvania and born in 2016 with one of her eyes underdeveloped.
Doctors are gradually stretching the bowl in her case, using progressively larger, clear balls every two weeks to make room for an artificial eye.
The family has launched an $8,000 fundraiser online to help them cover the cost of Tate’s treatment.
His father described his son as a happy-go-lucky baby. He said: ‘I’d say he’s smiling 95 percent of the time, giggling, just wanting to play all the time.”
He added: ‘Right now my wife and I carry it through our work. We have to pay extra out of pocket for medical insurance for him, therapies, doctor visits and other visits.
“The extra money we can save should be spent on Tate’s treatment – the therapies and the hospital bills if he is admitted.
“They want his eye sockets to be a certain size for the prostheses, so we’re working on that right now.
“We’re just trying to learn more about his condition as parents. That way we can better ourselves and help him in any way he needs.
“Just because he’s blind doesn’t mean he can’t live a normal life.”