2020–2021 BCSC Basic and Clinical Science Course™
6 Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus
Part I: Strabismus
Chapter 14: Surgery of the Extraocular Muscles
Surgical Techniques for the Extraocular Muscles and Tendons
Rectus Muscle Weakening Procedures
Table 14-3 defines various rectus muscle weakening procedures and describes when each is used. The most common is simple recession (Video 14-3), for which typical amounts of surgery for esotropia and exotropia are given in Tables 14-1 and 14-2, respectively. Because the conventional technique for rectus muscle recession involves passing sutures within thin sclera with the attendant risk of perforation, some surgeons prefer a hang-back recession, in which the recessed tendon is suspended by sutures that pass through the thicker stump of the original insertion. Although it is not known where the tendon reattaches to the sclera, empirical experience indicates that this method is usually reliable.
VIDEO 14-3 Recession of extraocular rectus muscle.
Courtesy of Scott A. Larson, MD, Ronald Price, MD, and George Beauchamp, MD.
Excerpted from BCSC 2020-2021 series: Section 10 - Glaucoma. For more information and to purchase the entire series, please visit https://www.aao.org/bcsc.