Observations on bilateral simultaneous botulinum toxin injection in infantile esotropia

Abstract

Botulinum toxin (BoTX) is an effective pharmacological alternative to the surgical management of strabismus in adults. In a previous study, we found that concurrent bilateral medial rectus muscle BoTX injections for infantile esotropia could produce stable ocular realignment without significant risk. No other investigators have used bilateral simultaneous BoTX injection. We report the results of bilateral simultaneous medial rectus BoTX injection in 57 infantile esotropia patients followed for a minimum of 12 months. The esotropic angle in 27 infantile esotropia patients under 12 months of age was reduced from 43 +/- 12 to 1 +/- 2 prism diopters. The esotropic angle in 30 infantile esotropia patients at a mean age of 24 months was reduced from 31 +/- 12 to 2 +/- 3 delta. Other variables including late onset of hyperopic refractive errors, dissociated vertical deviations, overacting oblique muscles, and consecutive exodeviations are evaluated. We regard BoTX as reliable therapy in infantile esotropia.