Surgical Alignment for Exotropia in Children

Abstract

A retrospective chart review was made of the results of surgical treatment of 67 children in a consecutive series who presented with constant or intermittent exotropia. The patients received surgery for an increasing duration and severity of the exotropia. The type of surgery varied for the patients depending upon the presenting amount of maximum deviation. To answer the question of whether or not the results varied in the younger child versus the older child, the patients were divided into two age groups. Group I was comprised of patients who were considered visually immature and who received surgery before 4 years of age, and Group II received surgery at age 4 to 17 years. Both groups were found to have a similar amount of initial deviation, similar types of surgery utilized, and a similar length of follow up (average: 4 years). A satisfactory result was defined as a residual manifest motor deviation of 10 prism diopters or less or a conversion to a constant phoria in all positions of gaze with fusion and stereopsis. Satisfactory alignment was found in an equally high percentage of cases in the younger versus older aged children. No patients required a third horizontal procedure.

• strabismus
• surgery
• fusion
• esotropia
• exotropia
• postoperative drift
• adjustable sutures