What happens during the procedure?
During the operation of strabismus, the squint angle of the diseased eye is corrected by surgical intervention so that the eye axis is parallel to the healthy eye. The muscles of the eye that pull too much on the eyeball are repositioned and too weak muscles are tightened. For this purpose, the eye is not removed or cut open, but only the slightly healing conjunctiva of the eye is opened so that the surgeon can reach the eye muscles.
With the so-called paralysis strabismus, the opponent of the paralyzed muscle is weakened during the operation and the paralyzed muscle is either removed or folded. This is intended to ensure that the patient no longer sees double images when the head is held straight. In some cases, several follow-up operations are necessary in order to completely correct the malposition of the eye.
When should surgery be performed?
Only slight malposition (so-called latent strabismus) of the eyes is compensated by the brain without consequences. However, in about 50% of the children with strabismus the malposition has to be corrected surgically. In small children, surgery is usually waited until the child is old enough to wear glasses reliably, the eyes are about the same size and the child can be examined sufficiently cooperatively by the ophthalmologist.
Until such time as the child is ready for surgery, weakening of the squinting eye is prevented by covering the healthy eye and thus increasing the chances of seeing with the weak eye. The operation is usually performed at pre-school age. If children start strabismus (normosensory late strabismus) at a late age, the doctor will recommend surgery as soon as possible.
If strabismus is first noticed in adulthood but has existed since childhood, the visual impairment of the strabismus cannot usually be improved. Surgery is then only performed for cosmetic reasons. The rather rarely occurring paralysis strabismus occurs mainly in adults and is caused by a sudden paralysis of the eye muscle. This form of strabismus becomes noticeable: After the possible causes have been clarified, an operation is recommended.
