R. Beneish et M. Flanders, THE ROLE OF STEREOPSIS AND EARLY POSTOPERATIVE ALIGNMENT IN LONG-TERMSURGICAL RESULTS OF INTERMITTENT EXOTROPIA, Canadian journal of ophthalmology, 29(3), 1994, pp. 119-124
Despite the presence of good stereopsis, surgically corrected intermit
tent exotropes may show a gradual outward shift with time. The purpose
of this study was to identify early factors that influence the succes
s of corrective surgery. Sixty-seven consecutive patients treated surg
ically for intermittent exotropia (age range 1.9 to 76 years) constitu
ted our final sample. Sensory status was evaluated with the Titmus ste
reotest. A successful surgical result was defined as phoria or intermi
ttent tropia of +/- 10 prism dioptres or less for near and distance wi
th maintained or improved stereopsis, 6 months or more after surgery.
The average postoperative follow-up period was 3.3 (range 0.5 to 11) y
ears. Good stereopsis (60 seconds of are or better) was present in onl
y 42% of the patients preoperatively and 61% postoperatively. The over
all surgical success rate was 60%. Early overcorrection, defined as an
esodeviation present within the first 4 weeks after surgery, caused a
significant improvement in the success rate, to 79% (p = 0.03). Poor
preoperative stereopsis combined with early overcorrection resulted in
a further significant improvement in the surgical success rate, to 92
% (p = 0.07). This suggests that poor preoperative stereopsis does not
necessarily preclude, and may enhance, long-term alignment stability
postoperatively. We suggest that it is peripheral rather than central
fusion that keeps the eyes well aligned after surgery and prevents rec
urrence of the exodeviation.