Surgical management of consecutive exotropia: Long-term outcomes

Purpose: To compare lateral rectus recession (LRc) and medial rectus advancement (MRadv) for correction of consecutive exotropia (CXT). Methods: Of the 43 exotropic patients 20 of them underwent LRc (group 1) and 23 of them underwent MRadv (group 2). Postoperative exodrift, strabismic angle, dose effect relationship were compared with minimum 2 years follow-up. Results: An average dose-effect in group 2 is higher than group 1 in the early postoperative period, however there was no significant difference at the second year follow-up (p=0,109). An average exodrift after 2 year follow-up was 6,6 +/- 7,12 PD in group 1, and 8,13 +/- 7,45 PD in group 2. Postoperative overall success rate was 50% in group 1 and 65% in group 2 at the last follow-up. The success rates were not significantly different between the groups (chi-square, p =0.31). Conclusion: Although there was no statistically significant difference at the last follow-up, better results were obtained with MRadv than LRc in the treatment of CXT.