Unilateral lateral rectus recessions in exotropia.

For the past several years, we have been performing unilateral lateral rectus recessions in patients with small- to moderate-angle intermittent or constant exotropia. We report a 73% success rate in 45 patients undergoing 6- to 10-millimeter unilateral lateral rectus recessions in exotropia with a minimum of 6 months' follow up. The success rate increased to 89% for patients under 4 years of age. The advantages of this procedure include operating on only one eye and virtual elimination of overcorrections, thereby preventing early postoperative consecutive esotropia, which occasionally can result in amblyopia or diminished stereopsis in very young children.