I had it done and it's definitely an improvement, but it's FAR from perfect. They did it all in one day -- surgery in the morning, four or five hours of sleep, and then they adjusted it and sent me home.

Pre-surgery, it was out to the right (right eye, BTW). On a good day when I'm well-rested, not sick at all, and not hungry or dehydrated, I think it's reasonably straight. But add in any of those factors, and it turns inward. I can tell when it's happening, because I feel the slightest bit dizzy. I also realize how bad it looks at those moments, so that's when it's time to start avoiding eye contact (more than usual) and leave as soon as possible.

Like most people with varying degrees of this problem, I dread having my picture taken and I get a knot in my stomach when I call to someone across a room and they look to both sides to figure out who I'm talking to, because I'm certainly not looking at them.

Also, even when it's at its straightest, they've only corrected it for looking straight ahead. If I have to look at someone who's beside me, I can't imagine how bad it looks, because I either get laughs or total noncomprehension.

I had it done in 1999 for eyes that turned out, but it's the same surgery. As a child, I had the surgery when my eyes turned in. After the surgery, my doctor took me to the office to adjust my eyes, and they were straight. The surgery held up for eight years. Six months ago, I started having problems again, and I got special glasses with prisms in the lenses to straighten my eyes. I'm doing this not for cosmetic reasons, though I hate the eyes not being together, but because I have double vision and headaches.

Today, I have to see the eye doctor again because my eyes are once again out of focus! My doctor warned me before the surgery that there were no guarantees that it would be successful. I hope yours improves.

hi, has your eye straightened after the six monthe period??? what type of squint did you have???

my 19 month old baby had botox injections for esotropia and we are now one week post surgery.His eyes are now crossed out temporarily. but i need to know how long their going to be like that before he sees straight. I hope it's not months. How one little detail in the face can completely change how you look. I guess it reminds me of how intricately made we are . There is a God and He does care for every part of our lives.

Hi its been 2 weeks since my strabismus operation using adjustable sutures on my left eye. I am 29 years old and I've had intermittent exotropia (outward turn) since childhood (2nd grade). This was my first operation to correct my strabismus. After the operation my eye was closed. After about 1 week post-op I was reevaluated and the attending UCLA doctors were smiling as I left the room. I took this to mean things had gone well. Indeed, both functionally and cosmetically the correction has changed my life.
Here's my timeline up until now.

DAY 1: adjusted the sutures using a topical (I had no pain) he slightly overcorrected my left eye I left the office slightly crossed.
DAY 2: my eye opened seeing slightly double eye muscles feel stiff.
DAY 4: drove to work on the freeway (no lane changes) constantly swiveling my head to compensate for having little eye movement.
DAY 5: Reading with no glasses. muscles feeling looser. feels like I have two eyes no x2 vision at distance fixation.
DAY 6: Looked through both eye pieces of a microscope for the first time.
DAY 8: drove for 4.5 hours without x2 vision (could've gone another 2).
Day 12: Today my eyes feel so good now. The 6-0 vicryl sutures are almost completely dissolved. I'm aligned and my eye muscles feel pliable and my vision feels snappy. If things change I'd go through it all over. Most people (1:4) have an exophoria like mine as opposed to strabismus which is (1:20).

Before talking to an Optometrist find an Eye surgeon/Opthamologist first and get the surgery if they recommend it. Thing about strabismus is that it can only be corrected by a surgeon. I highly recommend Dr. Sherwin J. Isenberg of the Jules Stein Eye Institute at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. (310) 825-8840. He is a leading authority on Pediatric Opthamology and Adult Strabismus.

Thank you for the response. My baby's opthamolagist did the injections instead of surgery since it is less invasive. if this doesnt work we will definantly consult the doctor you suggested. He already has a partial detachment of one retina so we dont want him to lose anymore vision. thanks again and God bless

Be very careful about telling people that the "only way to correct Strabismus is through surgery!" This is false. I am so happy to hear about your positive experience, but Strabismus can be corrected with a COVD trained and certified vision therapist through vision therapy.
I encourage everyone to explore ALL options and surgery is just one of them.

I tried the vision therapy several years ago. It seemed to help as long as I did the exercises daily. My right eye turned out. I was born with it but it was not a problem until about age 60.I began having less and less control.It bothered me to not be able to look people in the eye and always wondering what they were thinking.
I finally decided to have the surgery and today is day 8. I got H1N1 the day after! So been a difficult week. My eyes are "perectly" aligned according to the Dr.I saw him yesterday and go back in 6 weeks. Will need new glasses. Bottom line so far is I am thrilled! My eye is straight and I can look at people without closing one eye. I have some stange double vision but Dr says that will correct by 6 weeks. May not be pefect but it wasn't before. I am seeing in 3D!! Stuff on my desk is jumping out at me.