Exotropia

Exotropia

        Exotropia is a type of strabismus where the eye deviates outward away from the nose, and it's usually diagnosed early in life.

      It leads to the child's vision becoming scattered and sometimes experiencing double vision. The child may also squueze one eye frequently to overcome double vision.

     Exotropia usually starts intermittently, wherein at times the eye's vision is straight and not deviated, while at other times, the eye's vision is deviated outward. This type of strabismus typically worsens by time.

     It's noted that this type of intermittent exotropia occurs in the following situations:
- When the person is stressed or tired.
- When the person directs their gaze to see distant objects.

   also in young children suffering from any form of strabismus, the brain learns to ignore the image from the deviated eye and sees the image from the healthy eye. This is called suppression, and the consequences include loss of binocular vision (vision with both eyes) and weakened depth perception.

   Also, this type of strabismus may transition from intermittent to a continuous fixed state, where it remains continuously more than usual.

     In adults with strabismus, double vision sometimes occurs because the brain is already wired to receive images from both eyes and cannot ignore the image coming from the deviated eye.

       Symptoms of exotropia include:
- Blurred vision.
- Headaches.
- Inability to focus while reading.
- Double vision.
- Outward deviation of the eye.
- Eye muscle strain.

     Let's watch the next video where Dr. Osama Abdel Hakim discusses exotropia and its symptoms.

         The optimal treatment for exotropia is surgical intervention on the eye muscles, as prescription glasses usually cannot correct this type of strabismus, unlike some types of inward strabismus that can be corrected with prescription glasses.

      The surgery usually involves tightening or moving one or more of the external eye muscles of one or both eyes to reposition the eye. The eye is never removed from its socket during the procedure, and sutures are used to secure the muscles in their new position.

     Let's watch in the next video some cases before and after treatment, where Dr. Osama Abdel Hakim performed eye muscle surgery to fully correct the strabismus.

       This type of strabismus surgery is recommended if the intermittent strabismus is noticed for more than half of the day or if the frequency increases over time or if there are complaints of headaches without any underlying condition; the explanation for this is an attempt by the child or adult to control the intermittent strabismus.