Purpose: To evaluate the surgical responses and outcomes of bilateral medial rectus (BMR) recession in esotropic patients with spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) and to compare the results with normal controls.
Methods: The medical records of patients with SCA who underwent strabismus surgery for esotropia between 2006 and 2015 were reviewed retrospectively. Five esotropic patients with SCA (SCA group) and 10 esotropic patients without neurologic disorders (control group) who underwent BMR recession were included. Success rates, surgical responses, and the amount of preoperative and postoperative distance-near disparity were evaluated and compared between the groups.
Results: The mean preoperative esodeviation was not different between the SCA and control groups (20 vs 17.3 prism diopters [PD], P = .214). However, patients with SCA showed significant undercorrection compared with controls 1 week postoperatively (4.8 vs 1.0 PD, P = .048) and at the final follow-up (6.8 vs 1.8 PD, P = .032). The surgical success rates for the SCA and control groups were 40% and 80%, respectively (P = .095). Patients with SCA demonstrated a significantly reduced surgical response compared with controls (3.15 vs 3.87 PD/mm, P = .004), and a greater amount of postoperative distance-near disparity than controls (8.0 vs 1.1 PD, P = .001).
Conclusions: A significant undercorrection was observed following BMR recession in esotropic patients with SCA. Accordingly, the authors recommend a slight overcorrection of 5 to 10 PD or adding a slanting procedure when planning strabismus surgery for this distinct group of patients. [J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. 2019;56(4):266-270.].
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