Clinical effect of early surgery in infantile exotropia.

To evaluate the effects of early surgical intervention in infantile exotropia on the motor and sensory functions, we reviewed the records of 17 subjects diagnosed with exotropia before the age of 12 months, receiving surgery before the age of 24 months, with a follow-up period greater than one year, between 1996 and 2000. Of the 17 subjects (6 intermittent, 11 constant), 14 (82%) (6 intermittent, 8 constant) had a final horizontal deviation of <10 PD, with 3 (18%) needing a re-operation. Fusion and gross binocularity were developed in 7 (4 intermittent, 3 constant), and 11 (6 intermittent, 5 constant) subjects, respectively. Seven subjects developed stereopsis of 200 seconds or better, and 5 of the 6 with intermittent exotropia (83%) being involved. In conclusion, over 80% of the successful alignments were obtained with surgery before the age of 24 months in infantile exotropia, which was similar to previous studies. Furthermore, early surgical intervention, particularly in the intermittent phase, resulted in more effective sensory function.