[Leukocoria (white pupil) among children--mother is always right]

Leucocoria is a rare, but serious symptom in early childhood. It may be present at birth or develop during infancy. As in adults, infants usually display a black pupil, and upon shining a bright light into the pupil with the ophthalmoscope, an orange or red reflex emerges. The first person to see that something is wrong, is often the mother, but she cannot give a precise description. When the infant is crying it can be difficult to examine the red reflex, and the necessity of admitting the infant to an ophthalmologist, when the mother is worried, is discussed. In this paper we discuss two cases of retinoblastoma and one case of congenital cataract where the treatment was delayed due to late diagnosis of the leucocoria. The main conclusion is always to listen to the relatives when they are worried about the infant's eye, and to make sure that the infant is properly examined.