Strabismus Surgery Recovery

[gabesgurl]

Hello. I'm a 25 year-old female and I have coped with exotropia in my left eye for the majority of my life. I had eye muscle surgery two weeks ago to correct the alignment and the surgeon overcorrected my eye, (which I understand is typical for this type of surgery). I was told that the overcorrection was slightly more than what the surgeon would have liked, but he said that in time the inflammation will subside, my eye will relax and it SHOULD drift slightly outward as is typical for exotropic patients. My concern is that since I had the procedure done many, many years ago (unknown by me until after this surgery) the previous surgery will have a heavy affect on the healing process and outcome of this surgery. Right now my left eye is quite noticably turned inward and the inflammation is to such a degree that the tissue almost touches my pupil. Should I wait for the swelling to subside and anticipate an outward drifting after that time? Is there an average amount of time in which patients would experience this? Am I experiencing a normal recovery?    

[BrianF21]

I had my eye surgery 10 days ago.  I was n,ot born with a cross eye (although i had strabismus issues when tired according to my step-dad, who is an optometrist.  No obvious turning of my eye but having double vision.), but developed a crossed eye due to a physical injury. The redness is almost gone and swelling went away within two days.  It's been 10 days since my surgery and my eyes appear to be straight.  Yesterday I was having perfect vision, not double whatsoever, however today I'm experiencing double vision again.  Also, when trying to look at things with my peripheral vision I see double. I was wondering if in time my brain will correct itself and I'll regain my old single-vision.  Thank You.

Brian Fitzgerald  

[ishansdad]

HELLO, I HAD STRABISMUS SURGERY THIS PAST MONDAY.  I'M 38 YRS OLD AND HAVE SUFFERED FROM THE CONDITION SINCE EARLY CHILDHOOD.  I AM HEALING WELL.  I DIDN'T HAVE ANY DOUBLE VISION AT ALL!  MY SWELLING AND THE REDNESS ARE GOING AWAY AND I FEEL BETTER WITH EACH PASSING DAY.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

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[JodieJ]

After reading your posts, it's certain that you just can't generalize about recovery from strab surgery.  I must have really lucked out when I had my strab surgery in '05 (at age 50).  For whatever reasons, my recovery was quick and totally pain-free.  Based on my own research, it can be a number of weeks before the surgical results are stable.   However, in my case, there was little (actually, virtually no) change in my eye alignment from one day post-op.  (I had no overcorrection.)  With such great differences among patients, I can imagine that it's hard for even an experienced strab surgeon to predict what recovery will be like for each individual.  

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

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[JupiterCat]

I had strabismus surgery 6 weeks ago and my eye still is red and sore. This was not a re-op. My physician says everything is healing well and I can tell that my vision is much improved. The eye was slightly over corrected, but now has settled into its proper place

Nevertheless, I suspect that many physicians who work mostly with children "forget" than adults heal MUCH more slowly. I was NOT prepared for the recovery to be so long--or so painful. I had cataract surgery a year ago and that was nothing compared to this...I still cannot believe that after giving me morphine in the hospital, they sent me home to Tylenol! The pain after the heavy hospital drugs wore off was awful. Yet, I was led to believe this surgery was a 2-3 day recovery. WRONG.