Improved ocular alignment with adjustable sutures in adults undergoing strabismus surgery

Abstract

Objective: To assess whether outcomes of strabismus surgery are improved by using the adjustable suture technique and to determine which subgroups of strabismus patients benefit most from the adjustable suture technique. Design: A retrospective chart review. Participants: A total of 535 adults who underwent strabismus surgery between 1989 and 2010. Methods: Success was defined as ≤10 prism diopters (PD) for horizontal deviations and ≤2 PD for vertical deviations. Differences in the proportion of successful strabismus surgery were analyzed using a chi-square test with an alpha of 0.05. Main Outcome Measures: Ocular alignment in primary position at a 7-day to 12-week follow-up examination. Results: A total of 491 patients met the inclusion criteria (nonadjustable suture, n = 186; adjustable suture, n = 305). The success rates for the nonadjustable and adjustable groups were 61.3% and 74.8%, respectively (χ 2=9.91, P=0.0016). Adjustable suture use was particularly beneficial for patients undergoing a reoperation for childhood strabismus (success rate: nonadjustable, 42.4%; adjustable, 65.7%; P=0.0268; n = 100). The differences in outcomes were not statistically significant for patients with childhood strabismus undergoing a primary surgery (nonadjustable, 65.0%; adjustable, 81.4%; P=0.1354; n = 90) or with thyroid orbitopathy (nonadjustable, 76.7%; adjustable, 74.1%; P=0.8204; n = 57). Conclusions: Strabismus surgery using adjustable sutures was associated with improved short-term ocular alignment compared with strabismus surgery without the use of adjustable sutures. Adjustable sutures were most beneficial for patients undergoing reoperations for childhood strabismus. Financial Disclosure(s): The author(s) have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article. © 2012 American Academy of Ophthalmology.