Unilateral rectus resection in the treatment of undercorrected or recurrent strabismus.

BACKGROUND

When surgery is required for an undercorrection or for a recurrent strabismus that is in the same direction as the previous deviation, traditional options have included a rerecession of the previously operated muscle(s), a marginal myotomy of the previously operated muscle(s) with or without a resection of the direct antagonist, or a bilateral resection of the antagonist muscles. While many surgeons prefer to perform a bilateral resection for these reasons, a unilateral resection would be a useful approach for small to moderate deviations.

METHODS

Data were collected for patients who had undergone a unilateral rectus resection: age, number of prior surgeries, the preoperative deviation, the postoperative deviation at 1 week, 6 weeks, and 6 months, and the amount of surgery performed. An acceptable postoperative result was considered to be any deviation >8 pd.

RESULTS

A resection of a single rectus muscle was undergone by 11 3 patients. Complete data were available on 81 of these patients: 60 underwent a unilateral resection of the lateral rectus and 21 underwent a unilateral resection of the medial rectus. Of those patients undergoing a unilateral lateral rectus resection, 90% were acceptably aligned at the 6-month postoperative exam. Among those patients undergoing a medial rectus resection, 95.2% obtained a successful result.

CONCLUSIONS

A unilateral resection of the medial or lateral rectus is an effective tool in the treatment of undercorrected or recurrent strabismus. It is predictable, stable in the immediate postoperative period, and limits surgery to 1 eye.