Use of Polytetrafluoroethylene for Delayed Adjustable Strabismus Surgery in Humans

ABSTRACT

Delayed reattachment of the muscle to the sclera may be desirable to correct the deviation of eye developed after the surgery. Based upon the results of the author` s previous experimental study on rabbits, polytetrafluoroethylene was placed around the cut end of the muscle as a physical barrier between the free muscle end and the sclera in seven strabismus patients in order to prevent the postoperative adhesions. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) was effective in delaying the adjustment more than 2 weeks after surgery in 4 out of 7 patients. In 3 remaining patients, adjustment was not necessary in 2 patients up to 22 days postoperatively because of the desirable postoperative state and suture was lost in a 65-year-old patient. In every case, PTFE was removed after final adjustment. In conclusion, PTFE may be clinically useful for delaying the timing of adjustment.