In this Monday’s edition (31) of the Medical Correspondent, of Novo Dia, neurosurgeon Fernando Gomes spoke about the case of the daughter of presenter and journalist Tiago Leifert, who suffers from a rare type of eye cancer, called retinoblastoma.
At the weekend, Tiago and his wife, Daiana Garbin, announced the condition of the little Moon, just one year old, through social networks. The couple moved the internet with the testimony and took advantage of the announcement to warn other parents to be aware of the health of their children’s eyes. According to data from the Brazilian Society of Pediatric Ophthalmology, the disease affects approximately 6,000 children worldwide every year.
For Fernando Gomes, early detection of any type of disease – especially ophthalmic ones – is extremely important. In this case, the so-called “eye test”, a child eye exam that identifies eye diseases can be used to prevent serious cases of the condition.
The procedure is painless and consists of the incidence of a focus of light in the child’s eye, verifying the appearance or not of the natural reflection of the reddish color. The exam should be done three times a year until the age of three and can also be used to identify cataracts, which can lead to blindness.
In Lua Leifert’s case, the retinoblastoma is bilateral, that is, it affects both the child’s eyes. Gomes pointed out, however, that the disease can manifest unilaterally – in just one eye – and trilaterally, in the rarest cases, when in addition to the vision problem, a neuroblastic tumor arises in the cranial vault.
The neurosurgeon explained that, in this age group of Lua, several ophthalmological conditions can be detected, even more so in cases of congenital infections – when a virus or bacteria passes from the mother’s placenta and infects the baby during pregnancy. “We need to remember that the entire visual apparatus is under development. The entire organization of the vision process will take place in the first few months.”
“If you waste time on correction and diagnosis, you can, in addition to causing an avoidable or reversible situation of blindness, can also alter the development of the brain,” he said.
The attention of parents is essential for the identification of vision problems in children. Tiago Leifert, for example, claimed to have started to notice that there was something wrong with his daughter by her behavior, tilting her face to be able to see specific places. According to Fernando Gomes, the action helps to reinforce the importance of carrying out the eye test three times a year.
“Nothing better than the father, mother, or whoever takes care of the child to understand if there was a different pattern of vision or not. But when you notice that the reflection of a photo is different, that the child does not look for objects that you offer, or strabismus and other changes, you need to seek an ophthalmologist as soon as possible”, said the doctor.
Although rare, retinoblastoma has treatment. Depending on the degree of the disease, the form of therapy may vary, with chemotherapy, cryotherapy – freezing the tumor -, laser removal and, in more extreme cases, removing the eye.
“The most important thing is to detect it early. If there is no spread of the tumor to other parts of the body, you can offer a possibility of a normal life for the child”, concluded Gomes.
Source: CNN Brasil
