Efficacy of part-time patching in preventing recurrence after bilateral lateral rectus recession in children with intermittent exotropia

Abstract

BackgroundThis study evaluate the efficacy of part-time patching in preventing recurrence after bilateral lateral rectus recession (BLR) in patients with intermittent exotropia (IXT).MethodsA total of 190 children aged 3–13 years who experienced recurrence after BLR for IXT and received part-time patching were retrospectively reviewed. The patching was prescribed for 2 h per day for more than 6 months. Patients who had a recurrence of 18 PD or more underwent reoperation. Changes in exodeviation and reoperation ratio after part-time patching were analyzed.ResultsA total of 34 patients (17.9%) received reoperation after part-time patching, and the reoperation ratio after 2 years was 20.3% as per the Kaplan–Meier survival analysis. Patients with a recurrence of 7 to 10 PD showed a significantly better effect compared to those with a recurrence of more than 10 PD (p < 0.001), and the reoperation ratio was also lower in the survival analysis (p = 0.004). The factor associated with reoperation in patients with part-time patching was the duration between the operation and the initiation of part-time patching (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.006, p = 0.002).ConclusionsPart-time patching was effective in maintaining the efficacy of surgery and delaying the need of reoperation after BLR. This effect was better in patients with a recurrence of ≤ 10 PD.