Hi,

i have just had botox injections to see if I would have double vision if my eye was straightened, if I don't have double vision......I would consider surgery.

I have had strabismus all my life and now at the same age (35)....I want to do something about it.

About 15 yrs ago I enquired about an operation but was told I would have terrible double vision and not to persue the matter any further.

But from what I have been reading recently, this is the old way of thinking and there is new options available.

The botox does not seem to have worked on my eye yet, I think I may need a second dose.

Has your girlfriend had surgery before when she was young? Also how bad is the squint?.....Mine is quite bad and the chances are high I would end up with double vision.

Sorry I can't answer your question, but I am interested in knowing myself of any future disturbances.

Cheers!

Hi,

thanks for reply. I did not know if botox was even an option. The doctors all said surgery was the way to go. She odes have it pretty significantly, although she notices it much more than others. She has never had surgery before. We went for three opions from different doctors. Two doctors said the same thing. One doctor said double vision is possibe. However, the two docs with the same opinion both specialized in strabismus surgery while the other one did not.

I really want to know if the double vision "goes away" after time, or the patient gets used to it if it occurs.!

I have single vision, my left eye is perfect with good eyesight and no need for glasses, my right eye has the squint and still has good vision but when you have this from a very young age the brain learns to ignore the image from the bad eye and just focuses out of the good eye.

I am hoping, if my eyes get straightened that my eyesight will remain the same, with the image in the bad eye being ignored.

I find it very hard to find any decent information about it....This is the only forum I know off, and its very quite.

I found only this forum as well unfortunately.

Whats interesting is that one doc said she would operate on only one eye but if there was double vision, the patient will prefer the double vision over having the strabismus. As you can imagine, I didn't care for that answer.
The other two docs said they would operate on both eyes and they would under correct the surgery so it didnt create the double vision. He said the first procedure was 85% successful and it meant a second procedure might possible be needed. We are going to meet with him again to discus details.

If you do go for surgery, I would recommend going to someone that specializes in pediatric opthalmology and strabismus. These types seem much better informed that those that dont specialize in it. They do mostly children but adults who need it as well.

I hope everything goes well for you and your girlfriend!

It would help if you could post the outcome once the surgery has been performed.

There is not enough information about.

Cheers!

Thanks very much. I will post when I get more details and when the surgery is done. :)

Here is a site I just found that has a secton on ped. And strabismus.

Your girlfriend's ophthalmologist can check for the possibility of diplopia (double-vision) after surgery using prisms to simulate the position of the eyes post-op. This should be a surgeon who routinely does strabismus and/or an orthoptist, not just a general ophthalmologist. Also, if she has surgery using adjustible sutures they can double-check the placement of her eyes on the day following the surgery before tying off the sutures. All that said, sometimes the healing process will cause the eye to move post-operatively if the muscles scar in particular ways -- but this is evidently more frequent in patients who have had previous surgeries.

I'm 32, had two strabismus resection & recession surgeries as an infant and just had two more. The first one was successful but then the eye which had formerly been eso started to move outward. So we just had another surgery, just on the interior muscle, and are hoping it'll stick. My surgeon said that re-operation is only necessary in 10% of patients, but 20% if there are prior surgeries. Anyway, I didn't have any double-vision, just a period of moderate "visual confusion" which diminished over time and wasn't so bad. My doctor said that even those patients who have some double-vision almost always lose it gradually as the brain learns to synthesize the new data it's receiving.

Hope this helps, and best of luck.

Hi,

thanks so much for that info, it is very helpful. Based on what you said, it seems we pretty much in line with what you have seen. She never had this surgery before so she is nervous she will have long term side effects or something of that nature. So any negative vision changes will be temporary?

By the way, i'm in ny as well. We saw a doc in queens who didnt specialize in strabismus and we were not happy with what she had to say. We then spoke to two physicians who do specialize in this surgery and they both were similar so we are going to the one we liked a little better and was closer to hom(long island).

Any other info you have would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Competent surgeons don't ever promise that there's zero risk of long-term negative side-effects -- there's always some risk, even if it's miniscule. But I was told that even in rare cases where there is post-op diplopia that it almost always goes away over time (and if it doesn't, reoperation is always a possibility.)

it is extremely unsettling, though, to have your vision change in any way, even if it's temporary -- so your girlfriend should be aware of that and be ready not to freak out if things seem different or a little confusing at first, as they'll seem more "normal" as her brain adjusts to the new data it's receiving.

Her surgeon should be able to address all of these concerns, though, and if not, i'd go with another one. Vision is so personal and sensitive that you need someone who can communicate well about all of these issues.

I consider myself very conservative about these decisions, but i'm very glad I went ahead with the surgery after all.

Thanks again for your input! :)

Im 14 and had surgery on my eye wen I was just a few months old , but people still say to me '' why do your eyes cross in sometimes '' and wen I tell my mum she says thers nothing wrong with my eyes but I want to no y surgery has worked slightly but why does my eye still cross in occasionaly??? What can I do to stop it crossing in ? I hate mking eye contact wiv people!!!! :cry:

Im no expert but maybe you need another surgery to make an adjustment. My girlfriend says the same thing about what people said to her. People unfortunately can be mean and not understanding.

Good luck!! :)