Treatment of Strabismus in Adults

Adult strabismus can be treated with the eye muscle exercises, glasses which are containing prisms, botulinum toxin (Botox) injections & eye muscle surgery. You will need to be discussed with ophthalmologist to decide which the best treatment choice for your squint was.

1. Eye muscle exercise will be useful in the adults who are having weak convergence. This may occur when eye have difficulty to focus inward by aligning themselves for near work or while reading. These exercises can strengthen the eye muscles by that they can focus inward together.
2. Prisms which were incorporated into the glasses can be also used to correct the double vision, particularly when the squint was relatively small. Temporary prisms (Fresnel) were useful if the squint was variable as the strength of the prisms will be adjusted easily.
3. Botox injection was an effective treatment in certain types of the adult squint like patients who already had multiple squint surgeries. This may be performed in the ophthalmologist's office. The eye was numbed with the anesthetic eye drops; Botox was then introduced into the overactive eye muscle with the help of a small needle. It is usually a safe & well tolerated by the patients.
4. Strabismus operation may involve either by loosening or tightening the muscles which attached to the eyeball. This surgery was done in a single day in operating theatre. This generally involves a minor discomfort in post-operatively. Eye drops were needed for few weeks to prevent the swelling & infection after the procedure.
5. Adjustable sutures can be used to achieve accurate results in squint operation, particularly in adult patients who had already a previous surgery. This is performed in 2 stages. The first stage was performed when the patient was asleep under the general anesthesia. The suture was tied in a bow at the end of the surgery.
6. When the patient was awake, the ophthalmologist will check the eye alignment to decide any adjustment was needed. The second stage was done by using anesthetic eye drops. The sutures were untied & adjusted to fine-tune the eye position. This was not a painful procedure but in some patients they may experience a mild discomfort while performing the adjustment.
7. Not all the adult strabismus was suitable for the adjustable sutures, your eye doctor may advise you whether it was suitable to you or not.