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. 2012 Feb;119(2):396-402.
doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2011.07.044. Epub 2011 Oct 29.

Improved ocular alignment with adjustable sutures in adults undergoing strabismus surgery

Monica S Zhang  1 , Amy K Hutchinson, Arlene V Drack, Julia Cleveland, Scott R Lambert
Affiliations

Improved ocular alignment with adjustable sutures in adults undergoing strabismus surgery

Monica S Zhang et al. Ophthalmology. 2012 Feb.

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.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None of the authors have any conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Histogram of horizontal deviations in 5 prism diopter bins for adjustable (top) and nonadjustable (bottom) groups.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Histogram of vertical deviations in 5 prism diopter bins for adjustable (top) and non-adjustable (bottom) groups.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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