Surgery question: what does “small exotropia” actually mean post-op?
Hi everyone,
I’ve recently decided to pursue surgery for my condition and wanted some others input.
I’m looking for some perspective from anyone who has had adult strabismus surgery, particularly for intermittent exotropia.
My latest appointment, I measured 30-35 prism diopters of intermittent left exotropia at distance, while wearing a contact lens in my right eye.
The report says:
“The aim of strabismus surgery is to improve the control of the eye alignment.”
And regarding the expected result:
“The alignment post-operatively will not be straight and aligned as adults have difficulty with this.”
It then says:
“The aim of alignment post-operatively would be a small exotropia and maintenance of right eye fixation to avoid double vision.”
So my understanding is that the surgeon isn’t aiming for completely straight/orthotropic eyes, but rather reducing the deviation substantially and leaving me with a small residual outward turn? While maintaining right-eye fixation to minimise the risk of diplopia.
I’m curious how people interpret “small exotropia” in this context.
If you started around 35Δ, what sort of residual deviation did you have after surgery?
Did your surgeon give you a specific target, such as 5–10Δ?
How did your alignment/control actually feel compared with before surgery?
concerns about double vision?
And if you’ve had similar surgery as an adult, were you happy with the result even if your eyes weren’t perfectly straight?
Thanks for reading :)