Telemedicine for initial postoperative appointments following strabismus surgery

To compare the results of telemedicine versus in-person initial postoperative evaluations of patients who underwent strabismus surgery.

We conducted a retrospective chart review of patients who underwent strabismus surgery at a single institution by a single surgeon between June 2020 and December 2022. Initial postoperative visits were consistently conducted via telemedicine. Collected data included the percentage of visits completed successfully, average time to complete visits, technical difficulties, no-show rates, and average numbers of complications. This data was compared with the same measures from in-person initial postoperative visits for the period January 2018 to March 2020. Statistical analysis was conducted to determine significant differences in the two data sets.

A total of 276 charts were reviewed, 109 of which were from in-person postoperative visits and 167 were from telemedicine visits. Telemedicine was found to significantly reduce the length of the initial postoperative visit compared with in-person visits (P < 0.001), with no significant differences noted in visit attendance rates (P = 0.12). Additionally, there were no significant differences in complications or adverse outcomes of strabismus surgery between telemedicine and in-office visits (P = 0.50).

In our single-center study cohort, telemedicine proved a viable option for initial postoperative visits following strabismus surgery, with reduction in duration of visits and no significant difference in completion rates and adverse outcomes compared with in-person visits.