Please Help! Has anybody had squint surgery as an adult??

[ArmedAndClueless]

Hi guys,

I have a divergent squint that shifts from one eye to the other and I'm booked in for adult squint surgery this week. I've tried to gage what to expect by taking to Google but I'm finding conflicting information online, so I'm completely unsure of what to expect and it's making me feel a bit nervous, I've never had any form of surgery before.

I'm having 3 eye muscles operated on, 1 in the right eye and 2 in the left. With the information I've managed to find, it appears that children recover quite quickly but adults seem to have a longer recovery period.

I work FT on a computer and I've booked a week off for recovery, but some people are saying they took weeks to recover and I can't afford to have weeks off work.

Have any of you lovely lot ever had squint surgery on more than one eye muscle? If so, please would you share your experiences with me?

Many thanks 😊

I haven’t had squint surgery but am an orthoptist. In terms of recovery your eyes will be bloodshot and feel prickly/sore afterwards usually for a couple of weeks. Most of the redness will be concentrated at the inner or outer corners of the eye depending on which muscles you have had done. If you have not had squint surgery before you are likely to heal much more quickly than if you are having repeat surgery on muscles that have been operated on before due to previous scar tissue. You are likely to be given eye drops to use afterwards for a few weeks and can take painkillers as well. Most people are able to return to a desk based job after a week but I would try and take regular short breaks from intensive close work. Avoid dusty or smoky atmospheres and swimming for a few weeks. You didn’t mention if you currently have any double vision but it is possible to get some double vision after surgery even if you haven’t had it before, this usually settles very quickly but it is just adjusting to a change in the alignment of your eyes. Try to avoid touching your eyes as much as possible. Sometimes the dissolvable stitches can cause some irritation. Happy to answer any other questions

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply! 💕.

I have never suffered with any form of double vision. The surgeon that will be conducting my op said he was concerned I don't experience it because the prism was measuring 50 and he feels I have quite good control, but I've learned to have quite good control with it over the years so it's less noticeable because it affects me socially. He wondered how I knew I was controlling it so well if I don't get double vision, but I imagine it's those years spent trying to control it that my brain may have somehow adapted a little? I'm not sure.

I've never had previous surgery. The surgeon said I could either have two muscles in my left eye done and he's confident it should be okay, but says he can also operate on one muscle in my right eye - I'm a little uncertain which to choose because I imagine having all 3 muscles done would correct it completely maybe, whereas I'm worried that if I only have the one eye done then I'll have to go back for further surgery. I have tried botox twice a couple of years ago but it wasn't successful, in fact I actually think it might have impacted the control I have over it a little.

Hi 50 dioptres is quite a large squint , 3 muscle surgery will give a bigger reduction in the squint but if you are managing to control it fairly well at the moment you are also likely to also do well with surgery on just one eye. Divergent squints are often intermittent with binocular vision when the eyes are straight and the brain suppressing (ignoring) the diverging eye when the squint is present. There can be a tendency for the eye to diverge again over time for some people so having 3 muscles done this time is likely to reduce your need for further surgery. The surgeon will be working to a formula to give so many degrees of correction for each millimetre of muscle adjustment. A prism dioptre is approx half a degree i.e a 50 dioptre squint =25 degrees. So you could ask the surgeon what they are expecting the result to be for 2 muscle compared to 3 muscle surgery. Hope it goes well

How did it go

Hello, how was your surgery? I am scheduled to have this procedure soon & starting to panic a little.

I had squint surgery but for double vision. I didn’t take long to recover at all, it wasn’t particularly painful and I’m delighted with the result. Good luck.

Hi! Aww please try not to panic, as hard as it is! I was also a wreck drenched in sheer panic before mine too but it hasn't been too bad. The pain is bearable, more of a discomfort. I didnt take any pain killers at all apart from the first two mornings following the surgery but that was only because I'd woken really early (4am) and wanted to sleep in a bit longer, so I popped two co-codamol to help me drift right back off 🤣. I did have quite a bit of distortion at first while my brain has been adjusting and I'd probably say that was the worst part, but it has calmed down a lot now (11 days post-op and I'm now back in work). They only operated on two muscles on my left eye and ended up leaving the right, so I do still have a very minor squint in the right eye but it's controlled. Really happy with the results so far! 🤞. Good luck with your op, I'm sure everything will be perfectly fine for you too! 💕