Resection and adjustable suture strabismus surgeries

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 at 5:33 pm Post in Eye Diseases

People with strabismus have one eye turning in, out or rotating too high or low. It can be interpreted as certain muscle abnormalities. If one of the six outside muscles that control eye movements is particularly strong or weak, your eye will be misaligned and strabismus occurs. The process that eye muscles control eye movement can be affected by cranial nerve. Nowadays, there are several types of surgeries that can correct strabismus.

First category of strabismus surgeries are recession and resection procedures. For a strengthened eye muscle, a recession procedure will detach it and reattach it farther back to weaken its strength. In contrast, a recession surgery treats a weakened muscle by reducing the strength of its opposing muscle, in order to reach a balance. A resection procedure can be used to cure inwardly turned eyes. The lateral rectus muscles will be strengthened by reattaching the opposite muscle, resulting in outwardly turned eyes.

An adjustable suture strabismus surgery can be applied to improve the final outcome after a resection procedure. The adjustable suture in place can be used to tighten or loosen the treated muscles. Getting the satisfying alignment, the surgeon ties the suture permanently in place. This surgery will be conducted in the operating room with anesthesia. Individuals who developed strabismus in adulthood and have good depth vision perception are good candidate for adjustable suture surgery.

During the possible tightening process, you may feel uncomfortable. After the surgery, red and sore eyes may be caused, especially in the surgical area. These symptoms are normal and will fade within two to three weeks. Most patients can return to work after several days, even though there is a foreign body sensation. Final result of corrected eye alignment will become stable after four to six weeks. Some young children may need a second or even third strabismus surgery.