Comparison of surgical outcomes between lateral rectus recession and medial rectus advancement for postoperative consecutive exotropia.

To compare the surgical outcomes of medial rectus advancement and lateral rectus recession in postoperative consecutive exotropia with single-stage adjustable suture surgery.Among 1003 patients who underwent bilateral medial rectus recession between November 1996 and March 2013, the patients who required surgery for consecutive exotopia were retrospectively reviewed. Nineteen patients underwent medial rectus advancement and 15 patients underwent lateral rectus recession. All patients underwent single-stage adjustable surgery under topical anesthesia and were followed up for at least 12 months.The mean follow-up duration was 2.4 years. At final follow-up, a successful surgical outcome was found in 12 patients (63.0%) in the medial rectus advancement group and 14 patients (93.3%) in the lateral rectus recession group (P = .039). The change in ocular deviation was correlated with the amount of recession (P = .008) and preoperative angle (P < .001) in the lateral rectus recession group.Lateral rectus recession showed a higher success rate with predictable and easily performed procedure than medial rectus advancement for the treatment of postoperative consecutive exotropia with adjustable suture.