Surgical Correction of Exotropia due to Oculomotor Nerve Palsy

ABSTRACT

In third nerve palsy, the functions in the four of the six extraocular muscles are compromised and its treatment is the most difficult problem in the paralytic strabismus. In surgical method, large recession and resection of horizontal rectus muscles, lateral rectus muscle transposition to medial rectus muscle and superior oblique muscle transposition are used for strabismus surgery on oculomotor nerve palsied eye. We compared the results of two methods of surgical correction. In three eyes, lateral muscle transpositions to medial rectus muscle were performed. On the last follow up examination (men; 6.7 months), two eyes resulted in severe hypertropia and unacceptable ocular alignment and no improvement of limited adduction. In six eyes of whom superior oblique muscle transpositions were performed, all resulted in acceptable ocular alignment, no hypertropia, and the limitations of adduction were improved markedly. Therefore, in the treatment of third nerve palsy, sperior oblique muscle transposition is more effective than lareral rectus muscle transposition to medial rectus muscle.