Bilateral Lateral Rectus Resection in Patients with Residual Esotropia

Unilateral or bilateral lateral rectus resection1-5 is commonly performed for the correction of residual esotropia, but few results have been reported. Twenty-eight patients with residual esotropia underwent bilateral lateral rectus (BLR) resection. Six months after operation (n = 25), there were 17 (68%) successful cases, 7 (28%) cases of undercorrection, and 1 (4%) case of overcorrection. The success rate at the 24th postoperative month (n = 11) was 72.7%. The success rate for cases of infantile esotropia (n = 18) was higher than that for acquired esotropia (n = 7) at the 6th postoperative month (p = 0.156). The results were not significantly affected by the presence of other deviations (p = 0.387), the performance of other surgery (p = 0.393), the presence of amblyopia (p = 1.00), or the amount of residual esotropia (p = 0.604). Performance of BLR resection in patients with residual esotropia after bilateral medial rectus (BMR) recession is considered appropriate due to its high success rate and provision of a stable alignment during two-year follow up.