Subjective and Objective Criteria for Recommending Surgery in Intermittent Exotropia

Abstract

Intermittent exotropia is one of the most common surgical entities in strabismus. There is a wide range of opinions regarding the surgical management of this disease. Each clinician must determine how to assess control in intermittent exotropia in order to decide on the timing and success of therapeutic intervention. Previously used methods of assessing control have been largely-subjective in nature. We propose a means of evaluating and scoring control using subjective methods. Furthermore, as distance control of fixation is often the first to deteriorate, we feel that distance stereoacuity may be an early objective measure of the degree of control in intermittent exotropia. Distance stereoacuity testing may assist in deciding when to perform surgery on patients with intermittent exotropia.