[Artificial divergence surgery in congenital nystagmus]

The treatment possibilities for nystagmus have been expanded by the addition of the artificial divergence procedure. This paper presents a study on 26 nystagmus patients with and without anomalous head posture and good binocular function and with detailed pre- and postoperative electronystagmographic records. All patients had been treated by artificial divergence by means of a prism base out before the operation. Seventeen patients showed significant improvement after the artificial divergence procedure. In 3 patients this procedure had to be combined with the classic Kestenbaum procedure. In 6 patients, the effect of artificial divergence with prisms was not satisfactory; thus, the Kestenbaum procedure was necessary. This study proves the effectiveness of the artificial divergence procedure alone or in combination with other procedures for treatment of anomalous head posture and the improvement of visual acuity and binocular vision.