Spontaneous Resolution of Infantile Esotropia

ABSTRACT

Infantile esotropia is an esodeviation with onset before six months of age, characterized by a large stable angle and initial alternation with cross fixation. The natural history of infantile esotropia has not yet been verified. A 39-month-old girl presented with a history of esotropia. She was firstnoted to constantly cross her eyes at three months of age. At the age of five months, she was diagnosed by one of the authors[SHH]to have 25 prism-diopters of esotropia with a low hyperopic refractive error of 0.50D sphere. At that time, she fixed and followed with either eye. Ductions and versions were full. On three more examinations in her first year, she consistently showed 25~30 prism-diopters of esotropia. Against medical recommendation, she did not undergo any surgery. At the age of 39 months, she was found to be orthophoric at distance and at near by another author[JMH]. She could not identify flies or animals in random dot stereograms or Titmus stereograms. At the age of four years, she was still orthophoric at distance and at near. All the ophthalmologic findings remained the same. At the age of five years, she developed exophoria and DVD OS. She still could not identify flies. In conclusion, in rare cases infantile esotropia with a relatively small angle may spontaneously resolve without any treatment.