The Pediatric Cataract Center at BMSCH
Contact us at 732.613.9191 or Fax: 732.613.1139
The Pediatric Cataract Center at the Bristol-Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital (BMSCH) is the only center in the region that provides world-class care for children and infants with pediatric cataracts. Our goal is to save eyesight in all children with pediatric cataracts.
Pediatric cataracts also are referred to as “congenital cataracts,” a condition present at birth. A cataract creates a cloud, or a fog, that blocks the outside light from getting into the eye. Infants and young children learn, in part, by seeing different things, but if no light gets into the eye, then no electrical signal is transmitted to stimulate the child’s growing and developing brain. In order for the brain to fully develop, the eye must feed the brain nourishment in the form of electrical information. The cataract not only prevents the child from seeing, but it starves the brain of the nourishment it needs to fully develop.
Pediatric cataracts should be treated soon after they are detected because they can have a lasting effect on sight development and learning. If a baby has a cataract and is not treated quickly, it is possible that the baby could slowly go permanently blind.
In some cases, a “congenital cataract” can be associated with other medical conditions, and our pediatric ophthalmologists, working closely with your pediatrician, will be able to determine if consultation with other pediatric specialists is needed. If consultation is needed, the Center has access to a full complement of pediatric specialists at BMSCH for coordinated, convenient and comprehensive care.
National Expertise Provided Locally
Dr. Nancy Sun leads the BMSCH Pediatric Cataract Center. Dr. Sun completed her undergraduate education at Rutgers College, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society. She then received her medical degree from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, which was followed by a residency in ophthalmology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. Dr. Sun completed her pediatric ophthalmology fellowship at Storm Eye Institute, Medical School of South Carolina, where she trained under Drs. M. Edward Wilson and Richard Saunders.
Dr. Sun has co-authored articles in medical journals and has presented her research on complex pediatric cataract surgery at the national meeting of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, as well as the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. She has also traveled abroad to Mongolia and twice to Guatemala with a surgical team led by Dr. Wilson to perform complex strabismus and cataract surgeries.
Dr. Sun and her dedicated pediatric cataract team perform each cataract surgery at the Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Center for Advanced Pediatric Surgery (CAPS). CAPS is a 17,000 square foot, state-of-the-art surgical unit that is exclusively for children. Specially trained and certified pediatric nurses, doctors and anesthesiologists deliver all of the care provided at CAPS. CAPS also has the most modern and sophisticated cataract equipment available to provide the best and safest cataract care for even the smallest infants.
We at BMSCH realize that cataract surgery in infants is a complex procedure that involves specialized care and coordination of multiple services, including careful preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative planning. The Pediatric Cataract Center at BMSCH is the only center of its kind in the region able to deliver this care in an exclusive pediatric setting, close to home. Our team of dedicated doctors and nurses work closely with families and pediatricians to provide the best cataract care at BMSCH, where “Kids Are Our Only Specialty.”
Hotel Accomodations & Recommendations
BMSCH has developed close relationships with a series of extended stay hotels that we encourage our outpatient transplant population to use while receiving care with us. We have suggested three below:
Staybridge Suites
2195 US Highway 1 South
North Brunswick, NJ 08902
732-940-2250
Extended Stay America
30 World’s Fair Drive
Somerset, NJ 08873
732-469-8080
Holiday Inn
4701 Stelton Road
South Plainfield, NJ 07080
1-866-460-7456
(During regular business hours, Concierge Services is happy to contact any of the hotels on your behalf for reservations. If the Concierge is not available, patients must make their own arrangements directly with the hotels. For a full list of area hotels and additional room and board options, please visit Concierge Services)
