Strabismus is a disorder in which the eyes are misaligned and the surgery that goes by the same name involves the sewing of eye muscle to the eyeball to correct the disorder. If you have questions like ‘What is the success rate of strabismus surgery?’, ‘What is the best age for strabismus surgery?’, ‘How long does strabismus surgery take?’, ‘Does strabismus surgery improve vision?’, and many others then dive right in as this article sheds light on these topics.

What is the best age for Strabismus Surgery?

Strabismus Surgery can be performed on infants (as young as four months old) as well as fully matured adults. However, it’s best to get the surgery done at the earliest because as you grow old, the brain starts to adapt to binocular vision. At an older age, one will take time to get used to your corrected eyes. So if you have a kid who has Strabismus, consult a doctor and get it treated as soon as possible.

What is the success rate of Strabismus Surgery?

Many people suffering from Strabismus have a misconception that it can’t be cured and the treatment associated with it is pretty risky with a low success rate but they can’t be more wrong. In fact, most adult patients who undergo Strabismus surgery can be cured with next to no risk. Around 70 to 80% of patients achieve satisfactory alignment with just one surgical low-risk procedure.

How long does Strabismus Surgery take?

The surgery for Strabismus doesn’t take much time and can be performed in anywhere between 45 minutes to 2 hours depending on the type of surgery the patient requires. Although the duration of the surgery isn’t very long, it may take a number of hours to recover from the anesthesia that was given during the start of the surgery.

Are there any side effects associated with Strabismus Surgery?

Strabismus Surgery is a low-risk surgery, but still, there are some small risks associated with the surgery that aren’t even close to life-threatening and would not cause the patient much problem. The side effects associated with Strabismus Surgery include:

Unsatisfactory eye alignment:

It is one of the most common side effects that might arise after a Strabismus surgery. Even after careful preoperative measurements, a few patients will be overcorrected or under-corrected.

Eye infection:

Eye Infection is another common risk associated with eye surgeries but it can be prevented simply by using the prescribed eye drops after the surgery.

Change in refraction:

This is a temporary change and resolves after just a few months. It occurs when two muscles of the same eye are operated on.

Diplopia:

This is the most common among all the strabismus surgery side effects in adults and occurs when the eye is overcorrected. Patients who are 10 years or younger can suppress it easily but old patients might not be able to suppress it as well as younger patients.

About the author- Dr. Ritika Sachdev, Additional Director at Centre For Sight.