The resurgence of botulinum toxin injection for strabismus in children.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The present review discusses recent advances in the use of botulinum toxin for the management of strabismus in children. RECENT FINDINGS: Botulinum toxin injection produces similar results compared to surgery for certain subtypes of strabismus, especially acute onset esotropia. It may be more effective in many subtypes of esotropia where surgery has been less reliable, including partially accommodative esotropia, esotropia associated with cerebral palsy, and thyroid eye disease. SUMMARY: Small retrospective studies have demonstrated the efficacy of botulinum toxin in the treatment of many types of pediatric strabismus, providing some guidance for clinicians to determine which patients would benefit most from this intervention. Although administration of botulinum toxin is generally accepted as a reasonable option in select cases, many strabismus surgeons have not fully embraced the treatment, in part because of perceived disadvantages compared to surgery and difficulty in identifying subsets with the highest potential for therapeutic success. A recent study compared the administration of botulinum toxin in children with acute-onset esotropia to surgical correction and found botulinum toxin had a statistically equal success rate, but with the advantage of significantly less time under general anesthesia. In addition, botulinum toxin has been recently tried in patients with partially accommodative esotropia, esotropia associated with cerebral palsy, cyclic esotropia, and in patients with thyroid eye disease. The present review will discuss current clinical recommendations based on recent studies on the use of botulinum toxin in children with strabismus.

Treatment and diagnosis of congenital fourth nerve palsies: an update.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review discusses recent advances in our understanding of the pathology, diagnosis, and treatment of congenital fourth nerve palsies. RECENT FINDINGS: High-definition MRI, which can now more accurately image the trochlear nerve, has increased our understanding of the pathology of fourth nerve palsies. A more sensitive two-step test is proposed to replace the three-step Parks-Bielschowsky test. Procedures strengthening the superior oblique tendon can be performed with a low incidence of secondary Brown syndrome. SUMMARY: Recent MRI studies have shown two pathological mechanisms associated with congenital superior oblique palsies. Superior oblique tuck combined with inferior oblique recession is a very effective way of eliminating head tilt secondary to congenital fourth nerve palsies.

Adjustable sutures in children.

Although adjustable sutures are considered a standard technique in adult strabismus surgery, most surgeons are hesitant to attempt the technique in children, who are believed to be unlikely to cooperate for postoperative assessment and adjustment. Interest in using adjustable sutures in pediatric patients has increased with the development of surgical techniques specific to infants and children. This workshop briefly reviews the literature supporting the use of adjustable sutures in children and presents the approaches currently used by three experienced strabismus surgeons.

Adjustable sutures: an update.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review discusses outcomes and recent advances in the use of adjustable sutures in strabismus surgery for children and adults. RECENT FINDINGS: Several large studies have compared the success rates of strabismus surgery with adjustable sutures versus nonadjustable sutures by the same surgeon or group of surgeons, and demonstrate a significant increase in the short-term alignment for both children and adults with the use of adjustable sutures. Modifications of adjustable sutures technique that make adjustable sutures a more attractive option, especially for children. SUMMARY: Recent studies have shown better short-term success rates when using adjustable sutures versus conventional sutures in strabismus surgery. Improved outcomes combined with increased options in surgical technique may lead more surgeons to use adjustable sutures in both children and adults.

Actinic conjunctivitis in children: Clinical features, relation to sun exposure, and proposed staging and treatment.

BACKGROUND: Actinic conjunctivitis is an ocular photosensitivity reaction found mainly in children in certain populations in the Andean regions of South America, Mexico, and in the southwestern United States. Its clinical features, treatment, and possible relation to duration of sun exposure have not been fully described in the ophthalmologic literature. METHODS: A 20-member ophthalmic team traveled to an Andean region of Ecuador to provide ophthalmic care to children. All children with conjunctivitis were examined. A novel 3-stage classification of actinic conjunctivitis, devised by one of the authors, was used to stage the disease. The parents of each child with actinic conjunctivitis were asked how much time the child spent outside. Histopathological evaluations were performed on children who underwent surgery. RESULTS: A total of 206 children were examined, of whom 36 had changes consistent with actinic conjunctivitis. Stage 1 disease was diagnosed in 17 children, stage 2 in 9, and stage 3 in 10 in the most severely affected eye. The amount of time the child spent outside correlated with disease severity (r = 0.77, p < 0.001). Histopathologic samples showed an intense inflammatory response with hyperplasia of the vascular endothelium, pigmentary migration, and occasional eosinophilia. CONCLUSIONS: Actinic conjunctivitis is prevalent among children of the highlands of Ecuador. Although it has an allergic component, our data suggest that the severity of the disease is significantly associated with sun exposure. The finding that the lesions are found only in the exposed conjunctiva supports the hypothesis that UV exposure is the main cause of the disease.

Monocanalicular silastic intubation for the initial correction of congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction.

BACKGROUND: Treatment of persistent nasolacrimal duct (nasolacrimal duct obstruction) obstruction traditionally has consisted of simple probing. The most common complication with this approach has been recurrent obstruction, requiring another probing, often with the use of bicanalicular silastic intubation. Monocanalicular silastic tubing offers the possibility of increased success rates over simple probing while theoretically minimizing the insertion and removal difficulaties posed by bicanalicular techniques. We report, to our knowledge, the largest series to date of patients undergoing monocanalicular silastic intubation, as well as the first report evaluating this technique as the primary treatment for congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction obstruction. METHODS: This was a retrospective chart review of 635 children treated by 3 pediatric ophthalmologists via probing with monocanalicular silastic intubation as the initial procedure for congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction obstruction. Success was defined as good clearance of fluorescein dye and/or the absence of symptomatic tearing. Failure was defined as recurrent symptomatic tearing or inadequate clearance of fluorescein dye, leading to the performance of a second tear duct operation. RESULTS: We identified 635 children who underwent probing with monocanalicular intubation as the primary treatment for congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction obstruction (mean age at time of probing 18 months). The overall success rate for the 803 eyes undergoing surgery was 96%. The success rate for treatment performed in infants younger than 24 months of age (684 eyes) was 97%, declining to 90% when surgery was performed in infants older than 24 months of age (119 eyes; p < 0.001). These success rates compare favorably to previous reports of primary probing without silastic intubation, especially in children older than 12 months at the time of the probing. The only complication in the current study was conjunctival-corneal abrasion, occurring in 2% of cases. CONCLUSIONS: Probing with monocanalicular silastic intubation as the initial surgical procedure for patients with congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction obstruction is associated with a very high success rate and low complication rate, especially when performed by the age of 24 months.

Adjustable sutures in children using a modified technique.

PURPOSE: Adjustable-suture techniques are commonly used to decrease the reoperation rate in adults undergoing strabismus surgery, but they are infrequently used in children because of the difficulty of performing adjustments on a conscious child. The purpose of this study is to evaluate a new technique for using adjustable sutures in children, which makes the second stage of the procedure unnecessary if no adjustment is needed. METHODS: This was a retrospective study of children who underwent surgery for exotropia or esotropia. The technique used was a variation of the standard fornix-based adjustable suture with a separate slipknot. The pole sutures were buried within the sclera and tied; then the incision of the conjunctiva was closed to cover the adjustable sutures. The patients were then measured 4 to 6 hours after the initial surgery. The decision of whether to adjust was based on predetermined criteria. Those children not adjusted were discharged with no further manipulation needed because the conjunctiva was already closed. For those children who were adjusted, the adjustment was made with the patient under intravenous propofol sedation or laryngeal mask anesthesia. RESULTS: A total of 61 consecutive children ages 12 months to 14 years underwent surgery using this technique. Patients were followed-up after surgery for a minimum of 6 weeks (median 19.4). Fifty-four of the 61 patients (88%) were within 10 prism diopters (PD) of orthophoria on their final postoperative visit. Of the 22 patients who underwent an adjustment, 20 (91%) were within 10 PD of orthophoria at their final postoperative visit. The median follow-up was 19.4 weeks (range 6 to 45.9). CONCLUSIONS: This new adjustable-suture technique was associated with excellent short-term eye alignment. It is particularly suited for pediatric surgery because it eliminates the necessity of further manipulation of children who do not require adjustment.