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Updated: Dec 25, 2025

Surgical Correction for Pediatric Epiblepharon and Trichiasis
Published on: July 8, 2025
Motor and Sensory Outcomes of Infantile Exotropia: A 10-Year Study (2008-2017)
Zhale Rajavi1,2,3, Hamideh Sabbaghi4,5, Narges Behradfar6
1Ophthalmic Epidemiology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Insights
Surgical outcomes for infantile exotropia appear favorable, with high rates of motor and sensory success. Early surgical intervention and good visual acuity correlate with better long-term results.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Pediatric Ophthalmology
- Strabismus Surgery
Background:
- Infantile exotropia is a common form of strabismus in children.
- Long-term motor and sensory outcomes after surgical correction are crucial for visual development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the long-term motor and sensory results in patients treated for infantile exotropia.
- To identify factors influencing surgical success in this population.
Main Methods:
- A longitudinal retrospective cohort study of 76 patients with infantile exotropia.
- Inclusion criteria: constant exotropia before age 1, minimum age of 5 at recruitment (2008-2017).
- Analysis of 54 patients with complete follow-up data.
Main Results:
- Postoperative sensory outcomes: 38.9% central stereopsis, 38.9% peripheral fusion, 21.2% non-stereopsis.
- Postoperative motor outcomes: 69% orthophoria, 24% residual exotropia, 7% consecutive esotropia.
- Factors associated with better sensory outcomes: higher surgical age (p=0.022) and visual acuity (p=0.004). Higher preoperative deviation correlated with increased suppression (p=0.039).
Conclusions:
- Surgical outcomes for infantile exotropia are generally favorable, with 69% motor and 78.8% sensory success rates.
- Further research is recommended to validate these findings and optimize treatment strategies.
Purpose:
We aimed to determine the long-term motor and sensory outcomes of patients with infantile exotropia.
Methods:
In this longitudinal retrospective (historical cohort) study, the records of 76 patients with infantile exotropia were Studied. Subjects with constant exotropia manifesting before the age of 1 year who were at least 5 years old at recruitment time between 2008 and 2017 were included.
Results:
The medical records of 26 patients were excluded due to not participating in follow-up examinations or having incomplete records. In total, 54 infantile exotropic patients (51.9% male) with a mean age of 11.1 ± 6.8 years and follow-up of 4.99 ± 3.58 years were studied. Postoperative sensory outcomes (central stereopsis [<60 sec/arc], peripheral fusion [60-3,000 sec/arc], and non-stereopsis [>3,000 sec/arc]) were observed in 38.9%, 38.9%, and 21.2% of patients, respectively. In terms of postoperative motor outcomes, 69%, 24%, and 7% were achieved as orthophoria, residual exotropia, and consecutive esotropia, respectively. Patients with a higher surgical age (p = 0.022) and better visual acuity (p = 0.004) had significantly better sensory outcomes, while higher preoperative deviation resulted in more suppression (p = 0.039, rs = 0.218).
Conclusions:
With rates of 69% for motor success and 78.8% for sensory success, surgical outcomes of infantile exotropic patients seems to be favorable. Further studies are recommended to verify our findings.

