Surgical treatment in patients with double elevator palsy.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effectiveness of surgical treatment performed in patients with double elevator palsy (DEP).


METHODS
Patients diagnosed with congenital DEP between April 2003 and March 2007 were included in the study. The cases with positive traction test had inferior rectus (IR) recession followed by full tendon width muscle transposition Knapp surgery or partial tendon width transposition operation, while those without positive traction test underwent transposition procedure alone. Transposition surgery was combined with recession and resection of horizontal rectus muscles in patients with exotropia according to the amount of horizontal deviation. Eyelid surgery was applied in patients with ptosis following strabismus surgery.


RESULTS
The average age of 13 patients was 14+/-32.5 years (range, 3-60 years). Five patients (38%) were female and 8 patients (62%) were male. The mean preoperative hypotropia was decreased from 29.2+/-3.5 prism diopters (PD) (range, 16-45 PD) to 2.6+/-2.8 PD (range, 0-6 PD) postoperatively. The median amount of horizontal deviation in patients with exotropia (n=4) was 30 PD (range, 25-45 PD) preoperatively; it was reduced to 2 PD (range, 0-8 PD) postoperatively. Mean follow-up period was 14.1+/-2.8 months (range, 6-31 months). Five patients (38%) underwent eyelid surgery, and all achieved cosmetically satisfactory results.


CONCLUSIONS
Transposition surgery alone or combined with IR recession is an effective procedure in treatment of double elevator palsy. In patients with moderate horizontal deviations, recession and resection of horizontal rectus muscles combined with transposition provide correction of the horizontal deviation at the same time.
Department of Ophthalmology, Izmir Ataturk Education and Research Hospital, Izmir - Turkey. nsefi@yahoo.com
Nazife Sefi
NS
Yurdakul
Seyda
S
Ugurlu
Ahmet
A
Maden
D000293:Adolescent; D001763:Blepharoptosis / Q000151:congenital / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005133:Eye Movements / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009801:Oculomotor Muscles / Q000601:surgery*; D013508:Ophthalmologic Surgical Procedures; D013285:Strabismus / Q000151:congenital / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D013709:Tendon Transfer / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology