Meet the Raffoul Family

Dad of four, Leo Raffoul, attends the ACO’s Myopia Clinic with his sons Charles (16), Julian (15), Pierre (14), and Leon (12) for myopia control. The family first visited ACO 8 years ago for a routine eye test.

“We thought we’d get their vision and hearing checked before starting primary school, that routine stuff. There were no obvious signs of eye issues at all until it was picked up here. I hadn’t heard much about myopia before [the boys were diagnosed] and the optometrists started to tell us about shortsightedness.”

Today, Charles, Julian, Pierre and Leon are managed for myopia with check-ups every six months and receive individualised treatment to best meet their needs.

Zeinab Fakih, Manager Paediatric and Rehabilitative Services, leads the Children’s and Myopia clinics and is assigned to provide care for each of Leo’s sons.

“There is no one size fits all approach to myopia control. Many factors weigh into the development of a tailored management plan for each child.

The ACO myopia clinic is constantly listening and responding to advances in clinical research. The clinic prides itself on delivering evidence-based practice. One of the advantages of a public health clinic is the capacity for evolving protocols that are evaluated by peers and critiqued to ensure they stay abreast of the latest developments in myopia management.”

While Charles, Julian and Leon are managing their myopia with glasses, Pierre has shown great improvement with atropine treatment.

“Pierre’s myopia showed rapid progression from 2018 to 2021, but his refraction and axial length has been stable since commencing low dose atropine in 2021. Pierre’s myopia control had to be tailored to ensure that his binocular visual system was not compromised. Specific attention was placed on regular evaluation of his convergence and accommodation system to ensure that management with atropine was controlling his myopia without affecting his visual system at near,” Zeinab explained.

For Leo, he is clear that following treatment plans and lifestyle advice is imperative to protecting his children’s well-being into the future.

“The myopia treatment is protecting their vision, their education, their safety – it’s very important. My oldest son, Charles, he’s sixteen now and learning to drive. It makes a lot of difference when he puts those glasses on, he notices right away. My experience with the ACO’s Myopia Clinic has been very positive, very assuring.”

As the incidence of myopia continues to accelerate, the need for accessible paediatric public eye health grows too. In October 2023, the ACO announced its decision to extend bulk billing to all Medicare eligible paediatric services, including its advanced myopia services.

“The ACO’s move to ensure that all paediatric services are bulk billed has ensured that children, just like the Raffouls’ face no additional financial barriers to accessing required care.”