Comparison of horizontal muscle transposition and ınferior oblique weakening combined with horizontal surgery in v-pattern exotropia

Introduction

Pattern strabismus is defined as a significant difference in the horizontal deviation from upgaze to downgaze. In

constitute the neural hypothesis.3 When pattern deviations are clinically significant, corrective pattern strabismus surgery failure may result in over/undercorrection.2,4

V-pattern exotropia (XT), horizontal deviation increases

when gazing from downwards to upwards, and the differ- ence between upgaze and downgaze is at least 15 prism diopters (PD).1,2 A number of theories have been proposed to explain pattern strabismus; while abnormalities in extraocular muscle pulleys constitute the mechanical hypothesis, fusion loss due to abnormal torsion, abnormal supranuclear circuits and vestibular hypofunction

1Ophthalmology Department, Demiroglu Science University, Istanbul, Turkey

2Ophthalmology Department Istanbul, University of Health Sciences, Istanbul Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey

Corresponding author:

Pinar Sultan, Ophthalmology Department Istanbul, University of Health Sciences, Istanbul Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.

Various surgical methods may be preferred for treat- ment of the V-pattern in XT, including lateral rectus (LR) recession, vertical transposition of horizontal muscles, slanting of the horizontal rectus muscle inser- tions, half-tendon nasal transposition of the superior rectus muscle and inferior oblique weakening.1,2 The gen- erally accepted opinion in the surgical correction of pattern deviation is inferior oblique weakening in cases of inferior oblique overaction, if not vertical transposition of horizon- tal rectus muscles. Both methods may be employed simul- taneously in the case of a large pattern.2,4

Theoretically, inferior oblique weakening may cause esotropic deviation, as the inferior oblique muscle causes excyclotorsion, elevation and abduction. Various studies in the literature reported that inferior oblique surgery did not affect horizontal deviation;4–6 however, some others

claimed the opposite.1,7–10

In our study, pre- and postoperative deviation angles and pattern collapse were investigated in patients with V-pattern XT who underwent vertical transposition of hori- zontal rectus muscle and inferior oblique muscle surgery combined with horizontal surgery, and the surgical success of the two pattern correction methods was compared.

Methods

In our study, the medical records of patients who had surgery between October 2017 and August 2020 for sub-V and V-pattern deviation accompanying intermittent or constant exotropia were analyzed retrospectively. All patients provided written informed consent before surgery. Our study was approved by the Demiroglu Science University Clinical Research Ethics Committee (decree no: 44140529/1669) and was planned in accord- ance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

The patients were divided into two groups. Group 1 consisted of patients who underwent horizontal surgery and vertical transposition of horizontal rectus muscles, and group 2 included patients who underwent horizontal surgery and inferior oblique weakening. All of the patients in group 1 have no inferior oblique overaction, while all of the patients in group 2 have inferior oblique overaction.

The medical records of the patients were examined for sex, age, age at the time of surgery, duration of follow-up, visual acuity, preoperative refractive error, preoperative and 1-, 6-, and 12-month postoperative horizontal and ver- tical deviation angles measured at a near and distant targets, amount of pattern, pattern collapse, postoperative over- and undercorrection, surgical success, fusion, stere- opsis and amblyopia. Group 1 and group 2 were compared to assess differences in the aforementioned parameters.

The inclusion criteria were the presence of complete records of the investigated parameters in the medical records and a asgarî 6-month follow-up period.

The exclusion criteria were the presence of Dissociated Vertical Deviation, Duane syndrome, nystagmus, any con- current ocular disorder, any previous ocular surgery, chromosomal anomaly, comorbid systemic disorders such as congenital anomalies or neurological disorders, strabismus due to paralytic or restrictive causes or a history of trauma.

All patients underwent a detailed ophthalmological examination, including best corrected visual acuity, stra- bismus examination, cycloplegic refraction, slit lamp bio- microscopy and dilated fundus examination.

The best corrected visual acuity was measured with a Snellen chart in the same room conditions, and the results were evaluated in terms of LogMAR (Logarithm of the En az Angle of Resolution). Amblyopia was defined as a difference of 2 lines or more in best corrected visual acuity between the two eyes.11

Refraction examination was performed using a table-top autorefractometer (AutoKerato-Refractometer KR-8900; Topcon Co, Tokyo, Jap) after applying 1% cyclopentolate chloride, and patients with hyperopia above + 2.00, astig- matism above 1 D and myopia were followed up with spec- tacle correction before surgery.1

The angle of deviation was measured with an alternate prism cover test under the best optical correction using near and distant accommodative targets (0.33 m and 6 m, respectively) in all gaze positions.

If the distant exodeviation was 10 PD or more than the near exodeviation, one eye was closed for 1 h, and then the alternate prism cover test was repeated for the near and distant targets. Pattern deviation was measured by the alter- nate prism cover test at 25 degrees upgaze and downgaze with the patient fixated on a distant target. V-pattern devi- ation was regarded as a difference of 15 PD or more between upgaze and downgaze, while the sub-V-pattern was regarded as a difference of less than 15 PD between upgaze and downgaze. The amount of pattern (vertical incomitance) was the amount of exodeviation difference between upgaze and downgaze. Pattern collapse was regarded as the disappearance of exodeviation differences in upgaze and downgaze.12 Patients with a V-pattern and a sub-V-pattern were included in our study.

Inferior oblique overaction was graded as + 1 and + 4. Stereopsis and fusion tests were performed before the alter- nate cover test Stereopsis was examined with Titmus ster- otest (Stereo Optical Co., Inc., Chicago, VİLAYET, USA). The Worth-4-dot test was performed for fusion at a distance

of 6 m, and the results were recorded as “fusion present” or “fusion absent” (including suppression and diplopia).12 Horizontal rectus surgery was performed by the same surgeon under general anesthesia, and bilateral lateral

rectus recession or unilateral lateral rectus recession and medial rectus resection were preferred, in accordance with the Parks table. Unilateral surgeries were performed on the nondominant eye.12 None of the patients had

adjustable suture surgery. In addition to horizontal surgery, horizontal muscle transposition surgery was preferred when V-pattern strabismus occurs in the absence of oblique muscle overaction. The amount of horizontal muscle offset was half tendon width for all patients in group 1. When transposition surgery was added to horizon- tal rectus surgery, it was performed as described by Knapp.1 In addition to horizontal surgery, patients with an inferior oblique overaction of + 1 and above underwent inferior oblique weakening surgery as described by Parks, in accordance with the degree of inferior oblique overac- tion.9 Other inferior oblique procedures, such as myectomy or disinsertion, were not performed.

Postoperative undercorrection was considered an exodeviation at over 10 PD on distance measurements, and overcorrection was considered at over 5 PD esotropia.

Surgical success was considered 10 PD and less than 10 PD exotropia (≤10Δ exotropia) and 5 PD and less than 5 PD esotropia (≤5Δ esotropia) on the last measurement after the surgery.13

The sample size was estimated based on the descrip- tive statistics of the postoperative “horizontal near” par- ameter in a similar study conducted by Sekeroğlu et al.4 According to a power analysis based on descriptive

statistics of that study, to determine statistically signifi- cant differences between the mean/medians with 80% power and 5% type I error, the sample size was deter- mined to be a en az 32 cases, including 16 cases in each surgical approach group. Power analysis was estimated with G*Power 3.1.9.4 for the Windows package program (2019, Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf, Germany).

Descriptive statistics were given as the mean ± standard deviation and median with minimum-maximum values for continuous variables depending on their distribution. Numbers and percentages are used for categorical variables.

The normality of the distribution of the numerical vari- ables was analyzed by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Shapiro-Wilk and Anderson-Darling tests.

To compare two independent groups, the independent samples t-test was used when numerical variables had a olağan distribution. For variables without a olağan distri- bution, the Mann-Whitney U test was applied.

To compare the differences between categorical vari- ables based on the groups, Pearson chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests were used in 2 × 2 tables. In RxC tables, Fisher’s Freeman Halton test was used to compare the differences between categorical variables.

Table 1. The comparison nof the demographics of the patients prior to surgery.

BCVA: Best corrected visual acuity,Snellen;SE-DE: Spherical equivalent-dominant eye;SE-nDE: Spherical equivalent-nondominanteye; XT: Exotropia; IO: Inferior oblique.

Group1: Horizontal surgery + muscle transposition Group 2: Horizontal surgery + inferior oblique surgery. BLR:Bilateral lateral rectus recession.

ULRR:Unilateral medial rectus resection + laterol rectus recession.

*: Pearson Chi-square test/Fisher exact test/ Fisher Freeman Halton test.

**:Independent Samples t test.

***:Mann Whitney U test.

The Friedman test was used to evaluate significant dif- ferences between measurements taken before and after the operation. The Durbin Conover test was used to detect dif- ferences between measurements.

For statistical analysis and figures, Jamovi project (2020), Jamovi (Version 1.6.13.0) [Computer Software] (Retrieved from https://www.jamovi.org) and JASP (Version 0.14.1.0) (Retrieved from https://jasp-stats.org) were used. The significance level (P-value) was set at

0.05 in all statistical analyses.

Results

The present study included 52 patients: 26 in group 1 and 26 in group 2. The mean ages of the patients at the time of surgery in groups 1 and 2 were 17.6 ± 11.4 and 16.9 ± 12.8 years, respectively. The median postoperative follow-up time was 18 months in group 1 and 13 months in group

2. The demographic parameters of the patients, including age, age at surgery, sex distribution, follow-up time, visual acuity, spherical equivalent, presence of stereopsis, fusion, amblyopia and type of horizontal rectus surgery performed, did not significantly differ between the groups (p > 0.05 for all) (Table 1).

The surgical outcomes for group 1 and group 2 are summarized in Table 2. Although the number of over- corrections was not different, the undercorrection rate was significantly higher in group 1 (42.3% vs 3.8%, p = 0.003). The comparisons of postoperative stereopsis, fusion and pattern collapse were not different between groups. The surgical success rate was signifi- cantly higher in group 2 than in group 1 (96.2% vs 61.5%, p = 0.007).

The comparisons of the ocular deviations between groups and within groups are shown in Table 3. The Friedman test revealed that strabismus surgery signifi- cantly improved ocular deviations, including near (for groups 1 and 2), distance (for groups 1 and 2) and vertical (for group 2 only) XT. Similarly, in both groups, the amount of pattern was significantly decreased (p < 0.001 for each). In Group 1, both distance and near XT deviations

were significantly improved compared to preoperative measurements (p < 0.001 for all). In Group 2, vertical, dis- tance and near XT deviations were significantly improved compared to preoperative measurements (p < 0.001 for all) (Durbin Conover test)

The comparisons between groups showed that near XT deviation at 6 months was significantly lower in group 2. In addition, the distance XT deviation (PD) at month 1 was lower in group 2. Vertical deviations were significantly different in group 2 than in group 1 at each measurement time point. Although the pre- operative amount of pattern was similar, the post- operative deviation was significantly lower in group 2 than in group 1 (Table 3).

Discussion

The prevalence of pattern manifestation in strabismus patients varies between 12.5% and 87.7% in different studies. Detection of pattern strabismus and determination of the surgical plan are important for the treatment outcome.4

In the correction of the V-pattern accompanying exotro- pia, 15 PD-25 PD pattern corrections are obtained by ver- tical displacement of the horizontal muscles.1 In V-pattern XT, the direction of vertical transposition is up for LR and down for MR2 In this way, the aforementioned transpos- ition alters vector forces around the horizontal axis of the Fick coordination system, and as a result, muscle tension differs with up- and down rotation of the eyes..14

Inferior oblique overaction may accompany intermittent exotropia in 32% of the patients.15 It is generally accepted that the inferior oblique muscle is weakened due to the inferior oblique abductor effect in upward gaze when infer- ior oblique overaction is associated with V-pattern strabis- mus.1,16 Inferior oblique weakening provides approximately 15-25 PD pattern corrections.4,16,17 Inferior oblique weakening surgery may cause intorsion, esotropia during the upgaze and elevation limitation in adduction, if performed in pattern strabismus without inferior oblique overaction.1,18

Table 2. The comparison of the post-operative outcomes of the study groups.

Group1: HorizontaI surgery + muscle transposition Group 2: Horizontal surgery + inferior oblique surgery. Pearson Chi-Square rest/ Fisher Exact rest.

Table 3. The comparison of the preoperative and postoperative ocular deviations between groups.

In our study, statistically significant improvements in the V-pattern were detected in both groups, in accordance with the literature.4,9,12,14,19 Maher et al.19 determined the mean pattern collapse to be 13.1 PD after half tendon lateral rectus vertical transposition, while Wang et al.9 found the mean postoperative collapse to be 10.1 PD after inferior oblique recession in patients with V-pattern XT. In our study, a mean pattern collapse of 10.3 ± 5.7 PD was obtained with half tendon vertical transposition of horizontal muscles, while this value was 11.1 ± 4,1 PD with inferior oblique weakening.

There was no statistically significant difference in pattern collapse between the two groups; however, the amount of pattern was lower in group 2 after surgery (p = 0.003) despite the lack of difference between group

1 and group 2 for the preoperative pattern amount. Sekeroğlu et al.4 stated that in patients with pattern devi- ation between 16-30 PD, the two groups that had half tendon vertical transposition and a number of inferior oblique weakening methods were similar in terms of pattern collapse and amount of pattern; however, in that study, the number of patients who had inferior oblique weakening was greater than the number of patients with vertical transposition, and esotropia (ET) and XT patients were analyzed together.

The vertical deviation in group 2 was significantly greater than that in group 1 before surgery. A statistically

significant change was observed in vertical deviation in group 2 after surgery; however, no change was detected in group 1. Several studies have demonstrated improve- ment in the angle of deviation in the primary position after inferior oblique weakening procedures, including our study.20–22 Torrado et al.21 reported that hypertropia in the primary position decreased from 11.4 PD to 1.7 PD after inferior oblique recession, and Morad et al.22 found a mean reduction of 9.1 PD in the primary position in hypertropia. In our study, mean hypertropia in the primary position decreased from 7.1 PD preoperatively to 1.5 PD postoperatively.

Various authors have investigated whether pattern cor- rection methods have any effect on horizontal deviation in pattern strabismus.1,4–10

Minguini et al. studied the effect of oblique surgery (inferior and superior oblique) combined with horizontal surgery on the primary position in the treatment of ET and XT and stated that oblique surgery had no effect on horizontal surgery in terms of the primary position.5 Lee et al. found that the esotropic effect of inferior oblique surgery added to horizontal surgery for ET treatment was minor and temporary, particularly when it was performed bilaterally.6

Sekeroglu et al. reported a mean horizontal distance and near esodeviation of 4 PD (0-20 PD) with inferior oblique weakening.8 On the other hand, Wang et al. found a mean

distance esodeviation of 9.5 D with inferior oblique weak- ening in patients with V-pattern XT.9

Bae et al. compared horizontal surgery and inferior oblique weakening added to horizontal surgery in patients with XT and found a higher overcorrection rate in the inferior oblique weakening + horizontal surgery group at the end of 2 years.7 Similarly, Scelfo et al. found a higher rate of overcor- rection with inferior oblique myectomy combined with lateral rectus surgery than with LR recession alone.10

Sekeroğlu et al. compared inferior oblique weakening and vertical transposition of horizontal rectus muscles and found no difference between preoperative and post- operative horizontal near or distance deviation angles.4

Awadein et al. found higher exotropic drift in patients who underwent rectus transposition combined with XT treatment than in patients who underwent inferior oblique weakening combined with horizontal XT treatment.1

In our study, there was no difference between the two groups for preoperative near or distant horizontal devia- tions; however, group 2 had less near exotropia at month 6 and less distance exotropia at month 1; however, the dif- ference disappeared after one year.

In our study, the undercorrection rate was higher in the transposition group; this may be due to the decreased abductor effect of the inferior oblique with weakening surgery, thus leading to more esodeviation and less under- correction in group 2.

There may be several reasons for the different results obtained in studies investigating the effect of inferior oblique surgery on horizontal deviation. First, studies have been conducted on various types of strabismus. Some authors studied ET, some studied XT, and others studied ET and XT together. Second, the different inferior oblique weakening methods used may affect the outcomes of the studies. Our study contributes to the literature because it includes only XT patients and employs the same inferior oblique weakening method in all patients.

In the surgical treatment of exotropia, initial overcorrec- tion is the accepted protocol for long-term success.23 Several studies have reported that the frequency of residual exotropia and exotropic deviation may depend on the degree of preoperative exotropia and the patient’s age.24,25 In our study, there was no difference between the two groups in terms of age or preoperative amount of deviation. In our study, the surgical success rate was higher in group 2 (p = 0.007), and this may be due to the higher rate of undercorrection in group 1.

Some authors stated that none of the horizontal treat- ment methods of XT had advantages over the other;26,27 however, others claimed different success rates among the different procedures.27,28 Significant differences in the study populations, differences in follow-up periods, different doses of the surgical treatments, and different success criteria make comparing the results of the studies difficult.29,30 In our study, different horizontal rectus

surgery methods were employed to treat horizontal devi- ation; however, the lack of difference between the groups in preference of surgical method may reduce the effect of selection of horizontal surgery on the results.

The primary goal of surgery is to maintain binocular vision and stereopsis while also preventing further deteri- oration.29 Although surgical success was higher in group 2, there was no difference between the two groups in terms of fusion and stereopsis, which may be due to the high mean age of both groups.

The limitations of our study are its retrospective design, lack of measuring the amount of torsion before and after surgery, and lack of examining the V and sub-V-patterns as subgroups. The pattern correction method we added to hori- zontal surgery may affect surgical success and may also be important in planning surgery and determining postoperative prognosis. Prospective studies are needed in this regard.

In conclusion, we compared vertical muscle transpos- ition and inferior oblique weakening combined with hori- zontal surgery to correct deviation in V-pattern XT and found that inferior oblique weakening was more successful in terms of horizontal surgery success and the amount of pattern postoperatively.

Acknowledgements

Not applicable

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Pinar Sultan

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3399-0050

Supplementary materials

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on request

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