What is next in amblyopia treatment?

Occlusion of the preferred fixing eye has been a mainstay of amblyopia therapy for centuries. Credit for initially suggesting this treatment often has been given to the French polymath George Louis Leclerc, Count de Buffon (1743). However, evidence exists to suggest that attribution should go to Thabit ibn Qurra, who, although he was a Sabian and born in Harran (Turkey), was invited to join the illustrious scientific group residing in Baghdad in the second half of the 9th century. It should be emphasized that both these authors restricted their discussions to the patient with strabismus and strong fixation preference of the fellow eye. It is not clear whether their primary goal was to improve visual acuity in the deviated eye or to improve its alignment. After all, we should recall that beginning with Paul of Aegina (625e690), various forms of facial masks were devised to