Strabismus is a neuromuscular disorder of the eyes which prevents directing the visual axes of both eyes at once to the same point in space. It usually detected early in life and its causes vary.
WHAT CAUSES STRABISMUS?
Refractive errors are the main cause of strabismus in children. It couls also be a congenital anomaly.
TYPES OF STRABISMUS
Strabismus is most commonly described by the direction of the eye misalignment as esotropia, exotropia or vertical heterotropia.
It is distinguished, depending on its being permanent or not, to constant or intermittent and, depending on the eye presenting the misalignment to strabismus of the contralateral eye or alternating strabismus.
TREATMENT
There are various treatments for strabismus.
What we need to check in children is whether they have developed amblyopia in one of the eyes in which case we have to act fast.
We may give the patient glasses to correct strabismus but if it is not corrected we can proceed to surgical correction. Each patient is a special case and that is why surgical correction is different for every patient. The extent of the surgery and the muscles to be operated on will be established in advance by the ophthalmologist who will perform specific tests to that effect.