Will strabismus worsen if it is not treated?

Written by Tao Yuan
Ophthalmology
Updated on September 18, 2024
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Strabismus, if not treated, can potentially deteriorate over time. Strabismus is a common ocular disease, often caused by congenital developmental anomalies or external injuries to the eye, leading to misaligned visual axes. It can affect the appearance of the patient and may lead to complications such as amblyopia, as well as symptoms like double vision. Currently, surgery is the primary treatment method. The operation adjusts the position of the eye muscles' attachments and alters the tension of the eye muscles, thereby restoring the normal positional relationship between the eyes and aligning their visual axes. Patients need to visit the ophthalmology department of a hospital for an in-person examination and undergo comprehensive strabismus testing to determine the specific surgical plan. Without treatment, the degree of strabismus may continue to increase, leading to a worsening of symptoms.

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Written by Tao Yuan
Ophthalmology
57sec home-news-image

Will strabismus worsen if it is not treated?

Strabismus, if not treated, can potentially deteriorate over time. Strabismus is a common ocular disease, often caused by congenital developmental anomalies or external injuries to the eye, leading to misaligned visual axes. It can affect the appearance of the patient and may lead to complications such as amblyopia, as well as symptoms like double vision. Currently, surgery is the primary treatment method. The operation adjusts the position of the eye muscles' attachments and alters the tension of the eye muscles, thereby restoring the normal positional relationship between the eyes and aligning their visual axes. Patients need to visit the ophthalmology department of a hospital for an in-person examination and undergo comprehensive strabismus testing to determine the specific surgical plan. Without treatment, the degree of strabismus may continue to increase, leading to a worsening of symptoms.

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Written by Li Zhen Dong
Ophthalmology
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Can strabismus and myopia be treated at the same time?

Surgery for strabismus and myopia cannot be performed at the same time. Strabismus involves surgery to adjust the eye muscles. There are two surgical methods for myopia: one is corneal laser ablation surgery, and the other is ACL surgery. Myopia surgery mainly requires stable vision, the patient must be over 18 years old, have a strong desire to stop wearing glasses, and have a clear diagnosis from examinations, then surgery can be considered. Strabismus must be classified; early stage paralytic strabismus is generally not advised for surgery. Concomitant strabismus may be treated surgically. If there is also refractive error, dilated refraction and prescription glasses should also be considered.

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Written by Tao Yuan
Ophthalmology
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Why does closing one eye correct strabismus?

When a patient with strabismus closes one eye, the other deviated eye automatically returns to the correct position, which is a normal phenomenon. Strabismus refers to the direction of the eyes' gaze not being parallel; when one eye is looking straight ahead at a target, the gaze of the other eye will deviate. Based on the direction of deviation, strabismus can be classified into several types such as esotropia (inward deviation), exotropia (outward deviation), and vertical strabismus. When one eye is covered, the originally deviated eye will move to the correct position to clearly see the target directly in front; however, the covered eye will then exhibit deviation. Therefore, strabismus is not eliminated but merely appears from an external perspective that the deviated eye has returned to its normal position. To completely eliminate the symptoms of strabismus, surgery is required for correction.

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Written by Li Zhen Dong
Ophthalmology
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Do both eyes undergo strabismus surgery at the same time?

Whether strabismus surgery is performed on one eye or both eyes at the same time depends on the degree of strabismus, the condition of the dominant eye, and the nature of the strabismus, such as concomitant strabismus, paralytic strabismus, etc. It needs to be decided whether one eye or both eyes should be operated on. If the degree is quite severe, operating on the muscles of one eye may not resolve the issue, and it might be necessary to operate on the muscles of the other eye as well. However, a maximum of three rectus muscles can be operated on in one eye at the same time. Operating on more can lead to some complications. Therefore, whether to operate on one eye or both eyes should be determined based on the patient's actual condition.

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Written by Li Zhen Dong
Ophthalmology
37sec home-news-image

Can strabismus undergo laser myopia surgery?

If it is an adult with strabismus who also has myopia, it should be considered on a case-by-case basis whether myopia surgery is appropriate. For alternating strabismus, myopia surgery might be considered, but generally, it is not recommended. Since strabismus can cause many problems for the eyes, such as inappropriate positioning of the eyeballs during movement, which can easily lead to diplopia or monocular vision, causing issues like double images or binocular vision dysfunction, meaning there is no stereo vision. Patients with strabismus should first undergo strabismus surgery, then consider myopia surgery.