Previous strabismus surgery and eye position under anesthesia.

We studied eye position under general anesthesia in 51 patients with concomitant esotropia or exotropia, divided into two groups. One group consisted of strabismus patients who had had no previous surgery. The second group consisted of strabismus patients who had undergone previous surgery on one (asymmetric) or both (symmetric) eyes. We found that both groups showed either no change or more divergence under general anesthesia in comparison to their preoperative state. Those patients who had had no previous surgery revealed an equal divergence in both eyes. This relationship also held true for those patients who had undergone symmetrical surgery in both eyes. However, those patients who had had surgery in one eye only showed more divergence in the operated eye than in the unoperated one. These findings reflect the mechanical--anatomical factors created by the surgery itself.