Clinical Manifestations of Delayed-onset Consecutive Esotropia after Surgical Correction of Intermittent Exotropia

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical features and prognosis of a delayed-onset consecutive esotropia (ET) after surgical correction of intermittent exotropia. METHODS: Thirty-four patients who developed consecutive ET after primary bilateral lateral rectus recession for the surgical correction of intermittent exotropia were evaluated retrospectively and were divided into two groups: delayed-onset consecutive ET group and the continuous consecutive ET group. Patients who developed esodeviation after once recovering to orthotropia within 1 month after the operation were included in the delayed-onset consecutive ET group, and patients with continuous esodeviation after the operation were included in the continuous consecutive ET group. We evaluated preoperative and postoperative angle of deviation, suppression, stereopsis, and follow up periods between the two groups and compared re-operation and success following non-surgical treatment between the continuous consecutive ET group and the delayed-onset consecutive ET group. RESULTS: Among 34 patients with consecutive ET, 27 patients (79.4%) were included in the delayed-onset consecutive ET group, and seven patients (23.3%) were included in the continuous group. Success rate of non-surgical treatment was not statistically significant between two groups (p = 0.55), but it was higher in the delayed-onset group with 37.5%, and 25% of patients in continuous group were successfully recovered to straight alignment. Duration of orthotropia in delayed-onset group was 7.4 ± 6.0 months (range, 2–29 months). Age, sex, preoperative refractive error, preoperative exodeviation, suppression, and near steroacuity were not statistically significant between two groups (p > 0.05, all). In the delayed-onset group, three patients (11.1%) underwent re-operation, while three patients (42.9%) in continuous consecutive ET group underwent re-operation (p = 0.048). CONCLUSIONS: Re-operation rate of delayed-onset consecutive ET after surgical correction of intermittent exotropia was lower than that of continuous consecutive ET.