Eye muscle repair is surgery to align eyes or correct eye muscle abnormality (strabismus).

The surgery is most commonly done on children, but is also performed on adults with similar problems.

While the child is under general anesthesia (asleep and pain-free), a small incision is made in the tissue between the eye and eyelid (conjunctiva ). One or more of the muscles of the eye are strengthened (resected) or weakened (recessed) to allow proper position and help the eye to move correctly. After a few hours of recovery, the child may go home.

The surgery for adults is similar. Adults are usually awake or sleepy, but pain-free. Often, in adult surgery, an adjustable suture will be used so that minor adjustments can be made later that day or the next day. This technique usually gives a very good result.

Surgery may be recommended when strabismus or crossed eyes does not respond to medicine or glasses.

Risks for any anesthesia are:

• Reactions to medications
• Breathing difficulties

• Bleeding
• Infection

• Wound infections
• Damage to the eye (rare)
• Eye continues to be out of place

After surgery, the eye will be red for a couple of days. The corrected eye alignment is usually immediate.

One important note, the surgery does not fix the poor vision of a lazy or amblyopic eye, so a child may have to wear glasses or continue to patch an eye. In general, the earlier in a child's life the operation is performed, the better the result. The eye should appear normal a few weeks after the surgery.

This surgery is usually done on an outpatient basis. Usual activities and exercise can usually be resumed a few days after surgery.

Olitsky SE, Hug D, Smith LP. Disorders of Eye Movement and Alignment. In: Kliegman RM, Behrman RE, Jenson HB, Stanton BF, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 622.