Recognition and repair of the "lost" rectus muscle. A report of 25 cases.

Twenty-five consecutive cases of lost muscle over a 10-year period are presented with regard to etiology, clinical presentation, operative findings, and treatment results. All patients showed a large-angle strabismus and all muscles had marked limitation of excursion in its field of action. This complication of ocular surgery or trauma, unlike the slipped muscle which has its empty capsule attached to the sclera, is characterized by the absence of any attachment of the muscle or its capsule to the sclera. Eleven of the 25 muscles were retrievable largely because of attachments through intermuscular septum to adjacent oblique muscles. The remaining 14 muscles were considered irretrievable, and these patients underwent a muscle transposition procedure. The clinical features and surgical repair of the lost muscle are described and compared with those of the slipped muscle.