2-year-old in Wyoming may lose both eyes to FEVR

A young, two-year-old girl in Wyoming had her left eye surgically removed when she was two months old and is close to losing her right eye as well. The girl has been diagnosed with familial exudative vitreo-retinopathy (FEVR).

"FEVR is a life-long potentially active retinal vascular disease that can lead to a combined exudative and tractional retinal detachment due to untreated VEGF," according to Michael T. Trese, MD, in an article on Ophthalmology Times about anti-VEGF therapy for children.

The girl, Elly Bingham, has gone through three prosthetic eyes and will be getting a fourth one soon. The girl's parents seem to be having issues with purchasing the larger prosthetics when she grows out of them (they come at about $1,000 an eye). The family's insurance doesn't cover the pieces because they're considered cosmetic. Elly also needs to be taken from home in Cheyenne to Denver at least twice a week for checkups, laser surgery, and to go to an early education school for the visually impaired.

According to her teacher, JC Greenly at the Anchor Center, Elly handles her condition well,

"“She’s boss of the world, pretty much. She’s very independent, and at the same time, pretty social. She knows what she wants, and she’s also very curious about what she does see.”

Read more about Elly and her fight with FEVR at the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.

You May Also Be Interested In…

Mixed results seen with anti-VEGF therapy for children's retinal diseases

Anti-VEGF therapy targets certain retinal vascular diseases

Gene therapy still years away

ROP a lifelong disease that needs to be monitored

Glaucoma is key area of genetic research