Purpose: To study the epidemiological characteristics and the results of strabismus surgery of high myopic patients under topical anaesthesia.
Method: Retrospective study of nine high myopic patients with restrictive myopic myopathy (RMM) that underwent surgery in the last year and with a minimum follow-up of at least 6 months following surgery. Clinical findings, alteration of the extrinsic ocular motility (EOM) and response to surgical treatment were evaluated in each case.
Results: RMM was more frequent in women, average age was 46 years and average refractive error was 14 diopters. Diplopia was the most frequent reason for consultation, followed by the wish to undergo surgery because of an aesthetically unacceptable strabismus. High myopia was the most frequent etiology. One case was secondary to decompensated fourth cranial nerve palsy. The alteration of the EOM more frequently observed was endotropia associated with hypotropia. The recurrence rate of the deviation was 44%, occurring generally in the immediate postoperative period. In these cases botulinum toxin is a valid treatment option.
Conclusions: Topical anaesthesia offers undoubted advantages for a better adjustment of diplopia in RMM surgery. During the intraoperative adjustment it is convenient to overcorrect the horizontal deviation and to undercorrect the vertical deviation.