Long Term Surgical Results after Early Surgery for Infantile Esotropia Before and After 1 year of Age

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To analyze the long term surgical results after early surgery for infantile esotropia before and after 1 year of age and to investigate postoperative eye alignments. METHODS: This retrospective study included 46 patients with infantile esotropia who underwent surgery before 2 years of age and were followed up for a minimum of 5 years. Subjects were divided into 2 groups those who underwent surgery before 1 year of age (n=22, group 1), and the ones who underwent surgery between 1 year of age and 2 years of age (n=24, group 2). RESULTS: Long term postoperative alignment between two groups was not statistically significant. In postoperative stereopsis test, 11 patients (78.6%) of group 1 and 7 patients (41.2%) of group 2 had stereopsis and the patients of group 1 had more favorable stereoacuity than the patients of group 2. These differences were statistically significant, respectively (p=0.039). In postoperative eye alignment, patients of group 1 showed tendency to become exodeviated to esodeviated and patients of group 2 showed tendency to become esodeviated to exodeviated. These differences were statistically significant, respectively (p=0.023, p=0.042). CONCLUSIONS: To achieve better binocular function, early surgical alignment before 1 year of age is more recommended. Because early surgery before and after 1 year of age displays contradictory postoperative eye alignment, close follow up and careful consideration at reoperation is recommended.