Use of botulinum toxin in strabismus after retinal detachment surgery.

Botulinum toxin was used to treat 20 patients with strabismus after retinal detachment surgery. Preinjection motility deviations ranged from 10 to 60 prism diopters (D). Postinjection deviations ranged from 0 to 20 prism D, with 75% being 10 D or less. Eighty-five percent achieved fusion that persisted, with 73% requiring only one or two injections. Only muscles in the eye that had undergone retinal reattachment surgery were injected. The average period of follow-up was 12 months. Complications were rare and all resolved spontaneously. Botulinum toxin appears to be useful as a primary treatment modality for persistent strabismus following retinal detachment surgery, possibly obviating the need for complicated strabismus surgery.