Surgery for infantile esotropia: is timing everything?

Infantile esotropia affects binocular alignment and development of binocular vision. Delayed correction may lead to loss of stereopsis. Waiting for the angle of deviation to stabilise prior to surgery does not impact overall postoperative outcomes greatly. Early surgical intervention produces better outcomes in terms of sensory and motor development, binocular vision and stereoacuity. The period of misalignment has the greatest effect on postoperative outcome therefore early surgery is recommended.