Long-Term Quality of Life in Adult Patients with Strabismus after Corrective Surgery Compared to the General Population

PURPOSE: To evaluate the status of and factors associated with long-term health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in adult patients with strabismus following corrective surgery. METHODS: Prospective cross-sectional study. A total of 122 adults who underwent corrective surgery and were followed up for at least 1 year were recruited. Pre- and post-operative HRQOL were evaluated using the Chinese version of the Adult Strabismus 20 (AS-20). Demographics and clinical characteristics were recorded. Eighty-nine age-matched, normal individuals without a history of strabismus were recruited as a control group. RESULTS: AS-20 scores improved significantly in the psychosocial subscale and total scale after surgery for all122 patients, but not in the function subscale. HRQOL was better in the successful cases than in the non-successful cases (p<0.005). Subjects who recovered stereo function had better HRQOL than those who did not (p<0.01). Compared to the control population, the patients had poorer HRQOL post-operatively, with only approximately 30% of the subjects having scores within the normal threshold scores. The self-sense of a lack of ocular deviation and a successful surgical outcome were significant factors associated with post-operative HRQOL status. CONCLUSIONS: HRQOL, as evaluated by AS-20 scores, improved in the patients after surgery but was worse than that in the general population. Successful surgical outcomes and a sense of good alignment were the main factors that correlated with increased post-operative HRQOL. Positive assessments of surgical results by patients may benefit post-operative HRQOL.