Factors influencing surgical success in concomitant horizontal strabismus

Abstract

Objective: To identify the factors affecting surgical success in patients who underwent horizontal concomitant strabismus surgery.

Materials and Methods: Medical records of 143 patients who underwent concomitant horizontal strabismus surgery and who were followed up at least 6 months at Ordu University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Ophthalmology between January 2015 and December 2020 were reviewed retrospectively. Surgical success was defined as postoperative orthophoria or deviation angle of 10 prism diopters (PD) or less at 6 months after surgery.

Results: 101 (70.63%) patients with esotropia and 42 (29.37%) patients with exotropia were operated. The mean follow-up period was 18.54 ± 17.51 months, the mean distance and near preoperative deviation were 46.94 ± 11.62 PD and 47.29 ± 11.81 PD, respectively. The surgical success was 83.92% in all patients, 87.13% in esotropic patients, and 76.19% in exotropic patients. Additional surgery was performed in 8 (5.59%) patients with >20 PD residual strabismus in the following year. Preoperative distance and near deviations were found to be significantly related with surgical success (p=0.020 and p=0.026). As the preoperative deviation decreases, the surgical success increases significantly. The deviation type, age at onset, age at the time of surgery, the interval between diagnosis and surgery, gender, or preoperative amblyopia were not significantly related to surgical success (p>0.05).

Conclusion: The surgical success was found to be high following concomitant horizontal strabismus surgery. Since the preoperative deviation angle is the significant factor determining surgical success, preoperative evaluations should be done carefully. Patients and their parents should also be warned about the probability of additional surgery.