Book an appointmentWhat is strabismus surgery?
Surgery is the necessary treatment in many patients with strabismus.
It is a matter of strengthening or weakening the ocular muscles responsible for the deviation, in order to seek ocular parallelism. To do this, it may be necessary to operate on one or more muscles, and in one or both eyes. More than one intervention may be necessary.
In specific cases, botulinum toxin is used as a treatment.
In which cases is it done?
Strabismus surgery is necessary in children, once the optical defects and amblyopia have been corrected, if the ocular deviation persists.
In adults it may be necessary to eliminate double vision (diplopia) or in the event that it affects the patient psychologically.
Previous exams
A complete ophthalmological examination must be carried out by the specialist (children’s ophthalmologist or strabismus) before performing the surgery, to assess the degree of deviation and the type of strabismus you have. The presence of other pathologies or optical defects associated with strabismus must also be ruled out.
A previous study must always be carried out under cycloplegia (drops to dilate the pupil).
During the intervention
Surgery can be performed under local anaesthesiaor under general anesthesia, depending on the age of the patient. In children it is always performed under general anesthesia.
In the procedure, the oculomotor muscles are acted on, they are strengthened or weakened depending on the type of deviation.
Postoperative
The surgery is performed on an outpatient basis, so once the operation is finished, the patient can return home after one or two hours. The improvement of strabismus is not always immediate, the definitive results will be appreciated after a few months.
The first days the patient will have discomfort (foreign body sensation) and red eye, which will gradually disappear.
The patient will be indicated topical treatment (drops and ointment) for a few weeks, children are recommended not to go to school for 3-4 days.
You should not go to the beach or swimming pools for a month.
