Medial transposition of split lateral rectus augmented with fixation sutures in cases of complete third nerve palsy

Surgical management of complete third nerve paralysis is a challenge. While several techniques have been described over the years, they result in less than satisfactory outcomes with residual deviations in primary gaze or postoperative drifts. One of the described techniques for management of oculomotor palsy has been medial transposition of the lateral rectus muscle which provides a good surgical alternative but often can result in undercorrection. We describe a modification of the existing technique of medial transposition of the split lateral rectus by force augmentation through the use of equatorial fixation sutures resulting in an improved outcome in primary gaze alignment. The modified technique involves splitting of the lateral rectus into two halves followed by transposing the superior half from below the superior oblique and superior rectus and inferior half from below the inferior oblique and inferior rectus to attach them at the superior and inferior edge of the medial rectus insertion, respectively. This is followed by placing non-absorbable sutures to fix each split belly of the transposed muscles to the sclera at the equator adjacent to the medial rectus such that the split muscles lie nearly parallel to the medial rectus till the equator before reflecting away. These sutures augment the force of the transposed muscles by redirecting the force vectors in the direction of action of the medial rectus. Satisfactory postoperative primary gaze alignment was achieved in three cases of complete third nerve paralysis.