Intermittent exotropia. Surgical results in different age groups.

The surgical results of 111 consecutive patients with intermittent exotropia treated via bilateral rectus muscle recession and having at least 2 years of follow-up are reviewed. These data are analyzed from a standpoint of three age groups at the time of surgery: younger than 3 years (41 patients), 3 years to younger than 6 years (42 patients), and 6 years to younger than 17 years (28 patients). The initial surgical results for all ages were as follows: 56% satisfactory, 38% undercorrected, and 6% overcorrected. After appropriate management (which was almost always surgical) in those patients initially either undercorrected or overcorrected, a satisfactory result was obtained in 95% of all patients comprising this series.