EGOCENTER LOCATION IN CHILDREN WITH STRABISMUS - IN THE MEDIAN PLANE AND UNCHANGED BY SURGERY

Purpose. Previous studies have shown that there are spatial localizati on shifts after horizontal strabismus surgery when a patient performs an open-loop pointing task. After monocular enucleation, an adult will also show a shift in the pointing response. Other studies have shown that in children who underwent enucleation, the egocenter location shi fts toward the remaining eye. Is the pointing shift after surgery in c hildren with strabismus the result of a shift in egocenter location? M ethods. Using a modified Roelofs' method for measuring the egocenter, eight children were tested before and after horizontal strabismus surg ery to see if there were any shifts in egocenter location. One control group consisted of six children undergoing surgery for correction of vertical strabismus in which the horizontal muscles would be unaltered . Results. Presurgery measurements of egocenter location in the people with strabismus were the same as those found in the other control gro up of 12 normal children. Postsurgical measurements of eye position sh owed horizontal rotations of 14.5-degrees for the horizontal group and 2.4-degrees for the vertical group. Egocenter measurements showed no postoperative shift for either strabismus group. Conclusions. Thus, th e pointing shift seen in the previous studies is not from a shifting e gocenter location but from a change in the registered position of the eye in the orbit. Invest