Strabismus Surgery

What is Strabismus?

It is the loss of parallelism of both eyes with each other. There are 6 extraocular muscles in each eye. Lack or excess of strength in one or more of these causes strabismus. While one eye is looking straight, the other may look inward, outward, up or down. In some cases, slippage is present in both eyes. Depending on the cause of the strabismus, the shift in the eyes may occur continuously or temporarily. There is no single cause of strabismus. Strabismus can occur for different reasons.

Early diagnosis is very important in the treatment of strabismus. When it is too late for the first eye examination, besides aesthetic problems in children’s eyes, lifelong vision problems may occur. Even if children do not have eye complaints immediately after birth and during childhood, it is absolutely necessary to be examined by a specialist physician.

What are the Causes of Strabismus?

There is no single cause of strabismus. Troubled pregnancy period, whether the birth is problematic or not, the development of the child, the diseases he/she has can cause strabismus. There is a genetic predisposition for strabismus. If there is a strabismus in the family, the chance of strabismus increases in children.

In childhood strabismus, that is, after the age of 2, the cause is usually eye disorders. In a child with a predisposition to strabismus, strabismus may begin after a febrile illness or trauma (fall, surgeries, accidents).

The center that directs the movement of our eye muscles is in the brain, so paralysis of the nerves also causes eye shifts. In some cases, such as accidents, head trauma, febrile illnesses, and hypertension and diabetes in advanced age, paralysis of the nerves in the eye can occur. In strabismus formed in this way, the treatment may vary depending on whether the paralysis is permanent or not. Since lazy eye in children can cause double vision in the older age group, treatment is absolutely necessary.

How Is Strabismus Treated?

1) Some types of strabismus are related to refractive errors, and strabismus improves when you start using glasses. Glasses are sufficient for this type of strabismus.

2) If there is laziness in the patient’s eye, it is closed.

3) Congenital shifts; These are the shifts that do not usually require glasses and need to be operated in the early period (6 months-1 years). The vast majority of slips occur around the age of 2-3 and are usually corrected with glasses. Surgical treatment is required for slips that do not improve even though glasses are worn.

4) Botox:

In stroke-related strabismus,
In patients who have undergone surgery and have not fully recovered,
Botox is effective and can be used therapeutically in patients with goiter disease.

There is usually double vision in sudden shifts due to paralysis and it is a very difficult situation for the patient. The general tendency in this type of strabismus is to wait for 6 months. However, botox can be applied in order to reduce double vision during the waiting period.