LASIK as an alternative line to treat noncompliant esotropic children

PURPOSE: To assess the safety and efficacy of laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) in facilitating strabismus management in noncompliant children with fully accommodative esotropia. SETTING: Ebsar Eye Center, Benha University (Benha, Egypt). METHODS: The study comprised 20 eyes of ten consecutive patients with accommodative esotropia. All patients were noncompliant with glasses and had refractive stability. They received brief general anesthesia and had bilateral LASIK using Wavelight(®) Algretto Wave(®) Eye-Q Excimer Laser (Alcon, Inc, Hunenberg, Switzerland) to fully correct their hyperopic refractive errors aiming to achieve orthophoria. Preoperative and postoperative best corrected visual acuity, cycloplegic refraction, angle of squint, and any LASIK complications were recorded. Follow-up period was 9 months. RESULTS: The age of patients ranged 5.1–9.2 years and the hyperopic error range was +3.5 D to +6.75 D, with anisometropia 2 D or less. No patient had decreased best corrected visual acuity or loss of fusion ability. The postoperative refractive error ranged from −0.75 D to +1.5 D at the end of the study period. All patients achieved orthophoria. No significant intraoperative or postoperative complications were recorded. CONCLUSION: LASIK appears to be effective and relatively safe to treat accommodative esotropic children by reducing their hyperopic refractive error, however, patient selection is critical. Larger studies with longer follow-up are necessary to determine its long-term effects.