title: [Long-term follow-up and patient satisfaction of squint surgery with adjustable sutures].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Up to now, no long-term results about squint surgery with adjustable sutures have been published although it has been practiced using the current techniques since the 1970s. The aim of the study was to analyse patient satisfaction and objective findings and to compare the results to studies about squint surgery with adjustable as well as non-adjustable sutures.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients who had had squint surgery with adjustable sutures more than 10 years ago were identified according to their surgical records. They were contacted and asked to fill in a questionnaire. The collective consisted in cases which appeared to be difficult in treatment, e.g., 52 % had undergone previous squint surgery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We could analyse answered questionnaires of 113 patients (return rate 41.9 % of all contactable patients). In 34 patients (30 %) postoperative adjustment was actually performed, in the others the suture was only knotted. 89.4 % of patients either had no problems or did not remember the procedure of adjustment or knotting, respectively, the others had slight discomfort. There were no technical problems in surgery or adjustment. After an average period of 11 years, the satisfaction was very high. The reoperation rate was 7 %.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Squint surgery with adjustable sutures is a valuable tool in difficult strabismus cases with good long-term patient satisfaction without specific problems of surgery.
authors.affiliation: Orthoptik und Neuro-Ophthalmologie, Universitäts-Augenklinik, Bonn.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wabbels
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Förster
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Roggenkämper
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D013285:Strabismus / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D013536:Suture Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult