Strabismus Surgery: Essential Aftercare Instructions


Like all medical operations, strabismus surgery, too, carries the ability to induce complexities. Although minimizing these risks is possible during or after surgery if the patient ensures to take some crucial steps. In case of a complication, it is vital to recognize it and then move on to managing it effectively to prevent further harm.

Minor risks of strabismus surgery include bleeding under the conjunctiva, abrasion of the cornea, or inflammation. To simply put it, if the condition of the strabismus case is highly complicated, it is going to be that much difficult to control the deviation of your eye. Our visual system is extremely complex due to the involvement of the brain. Thus, solely repositioning the relevant muscles cannot resolve all the problems.

Why is Strabismus Surgery needed?

Strabismus eye surgery corrects the eyes which don’t align properly. It is performed on the muscles of the eye to restore normal binocular vision. People with strabismus have an eye that consistently points in a different direction. Strabismus may alternate between eyes or come and go in-between. In some cases, special glasses, patches, or injections could be enough.

Immediately after Strabismus surgery

Eye muscle surgery typically lasts between thirty minutes and two hours. By the time your anesthesia wears out, and you wake up, your doctor keeps a check to make sure there are no after-effects. After surgery, few patients are undertaken for suture adjustment if need be.

What to expect post-surgery?

It is most likely that you will see blood surrounding the surgical area and experience some soreness. That is entirely normal, and the redness, as well as any damage that has happened to the blood vessels, will fade in two to three weeks.

Strabismus surgery patients tend to struggle with temporary dual visibility following the operation. That happens because your brain is getting used to the change in the position of your eyes. Your vision will get back to normal over the coming weeks.

The first indicator to recognize the success of the treatment is the noticeable improvement in your eye alignment. You will have to wait four to six weeks for more lasting results. In some cases, your surgeon will recommend using customized eyeglasses with special lenses to help fine-tune the working of both your eyes.

At-Home Care

You can expect to resume your everyday activities promptly after your strabismus eye surgery. In fact, if your body’s recovery is fast enough, you can even begin to move about your basic tasks within a few hours. The only thing to keep in mind is that you shouldn’t be experiencing discomfort due to any movement.

There are a few instructions you need to strictly adhere to including, keeping soaps and shampoos away from your eyes, avoiding swimming for a week, using ice packs, and attending follow-up appointments.

When to call your doctor?

Your doctor will share a detailed account of your post-surgical care. But you should call your doctor without any further delay if you encounter any symptom out od the usual. Below is a list of signs you should look out for:

An infection, pus or discharge around the eye

Sudden bleeding in the eye

An unexpected change in vision even after a considerable time post-surgery

Too much pain that the prescribed painkiller is unable to cure increased light-sensitivity, leading to the inability to open the eye in well-lit rooms.

Thorough research before any surgery is essential to avoid any misconceptions and regrets later on. To help you make an informed decision, we have collected additional details about the operation. Please refer to this helpful feature



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