Bilateral lateral rectus resection in patients with residual esotropia

Unilateral or bilateral lateral rectus resection 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.