Congenital Nystagmus

ABSTRACT

Twenty patients were operated on under the diagnosis of congenital nystagmus(CN). Of these, nineteen were motor CN and one was sensory CN. Head turning was toward the leftside in 13 patients(65.0%) and the rightside in 7(35.0%). Preoperatively, the degree of head turn ranged from 20 degrees to 45 degrees with a mean of 34.5 degrees. Primarily, modified Kestenbaum procedures were performed and, if necessary, 2nd and/or 3rd operations(Anderson's procedure, Goto's procedure) were performed additionally. The degrees of head turn after the 1st operation ranged from -5 degrees to 30 degrees with a mean of 11.5 degrees. On an average, 23.5 degrees was corrected by 14.8mm of operation on muscles(resection plus recession) for each eye. By these procedures, seventeen patients(85.0%) showed improvement or cure(75% after 1st operation and 10% after 2nd and/or 3rd operation).