Relationship between motor alignment at postoperative day 1 and at year 1 after symmetric and asymmetric surgery in intermittent exotropia

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the relationship between the motor alignment at postoperative day 1 and at year 1 following bilateral lateral rectus recession (BLR, symmetric surgery) and unilateral lateral rectus recession-medial rectus resection (R&R, asymmetric surgery) for the treatment of intermittent exotropia, X(T).

Methods: Forty-six patients with basic or pseudo-divergence excess type of X(T) underwent BLR and 57 patients underwent R&R. The motor alignment at postoperative day 1 was classified as overcorrected by 11–20 prism diopters (PD), overcorrected by 1–10 PD, orthotropic, or undercorrected by 1–10 PD of exotropia.

Results: There was a statistically significant relationship between the alignment at postoperative day 1 and at year 1 following both R&R and BLR surgery (r = 0.74, r = 0.51, respectively, P < .05). Patients overcorrected by 1–20 PD had a significantly higher success rate than those undercorrected by 1–10 PD on postoperative day 1 (P < .05). For R&R, a postoperative day 1 alignment of 1–10 PD resulted in the highest success rate of 73.7%. For BLR, a postoperative day 1 alignment of 11–20 PD showed the highest success rate of 76.9%. There were no significant differences in the success, undercorrection and overcorrection rates between the two surgical procedures after a 1-year postoperative period.

Conclusions: The alignment at postoperative day 1 can be a predictive factor of the surgical outcome in X(T). A postoperative day 1 overcorrection of 11–20 PD following BLR surgery and an overcorrection of 1–10 PD following R&R can lead to good results.