Tolerance of patients and postoperative results: Topical anesthesia for strabismus surgery

Purpose: To assess patient tolerance and the postoperative results of intraoperative adjustment of strabismus surgery under topical anesthesia. Methods: Twenty-four patients with strabismus underwent rectus muscle recession under topical anesthesia without the use of additional systemic analgesics and sedatives. Patient tolerance was estimated according to the sites of procedure. In addition, the angle of strabismus was measured 1 day 6 weeks, and 1 year postoperatively. Results: Of the 24 patients identified (11 men and 13 women; mean age: 23 years), 16 had exotropia, 7 were esotropic, and 1 was hypertropic. During the operation, 17 patients never expressed any pain, and 7 patients complained of discomfort on muscle manipulation. Postoperatively, the success rate was 95.8% (23 patients) the first day after surgery, 79.2% (19 patients) after 6 weeks, and 70.8% (17 patients) after 1 year. Conclusion: Intraoperative adjustment performed with the patient under topical anesthesia is recommended in all cooperative cases of strabismus surgery and is comfortable for patients.