Description

Review of

“Binocular Vision & Orthoptics: Assessment, Investigation and Management”
by Bruce Evans & Sandip Doshi
Publisher: Butterworth Heinemann
Price: £ 39.99
ISBN: 0 7506 4713 2

Binocular vision and orthoptics provides an excellent read for the qualified optometrist wanting to develop expertise in this area of practice. The authors are all highly experienced in their field, a fact that is evident from the many useful hints and sound advice given throughout. Each chapter provides a stand-alone text, with a lot of interesting tips on examination technique and within practice treatment. With a multi-authored text such as this, there is bound to be a degree of repetition between chapters, which indeed there is. This does not, however, detract from the value of the book as a practical guide. The clinical pearls and tables highlighted in blue provide useful quick reference tips, but it would not be doing the book or the subject matter justice to read these at the expense of the rest.

The claim of the book to be a good grounding in the subject for students and practitioners, optometrists, orthoptists and dispensers is perhaps over ambitious. There is a lot of assumed knowledge, with terms and investigative techniques that would be understood by the experienced practitioner not being described in sufficient detail for the undergraduate. For the orthoptist the text may well provide an insight into the methods used in optometric practice when treating decompensating heterophoria. For their clinical practice, however, the use and interpretation of the investigative techniques required for the types of anomaly encountered in the hospital eye service are covered only in the most basic terms, if at all. But, for the pre-registration optometrist and the practising optometrist, the book would provide a very useful addition to the consulting room bookshelf.

It can be difficult to make general comments on multi-authored texts but, with some exceptions, I feel these are directed towards the qualified optometrist wanting to develop more confidence at dealing with this area of practice. The chapters tend to describe the authors preferred methods of treatment and any reader wanting to explore the subject further would need to look for supplementary reading.

The chapter by Jennings on ‘amblyopia and eccentric fixation’ is well referenced. It should whet the appetite and direct the reader towards further relevant literature. The chapter by Evans on nystagmus gives an excellent synopsis of a complex area that is poorly understood by the majority of eye health professionals. Evans has, throughout all his chapters, included very useful practical tips and flow charts on steps to consider during clinical investigation, although these are not always easy to find. For example the description of MEM retinoscopy is not in chapter one, where there is a discussion on the investigation of accommodative anomalies, but is hidden in the case summaries towards the end of the book. This problem could have been addressed by better indexing.

In general, this book is highly recommended to the qualified or pre-registration optometrist wanting to refresh their memory or develop their practical skills in this area. It is most useful if read chapter by chapter. Its use as a reference text is limited due to the lack of detailed indexing. I hope it inspires optometrists in practice to think more about the management of binocular vision anomalies.

Reviewed by:
Dr Alison Finlay
Department of Optometry and Visual Science
City University
Northampton Square
London EC1V 0HB