Chapter 7: The Preoperative Strabismus Consultation
A Patient & Parent Guide to Strabismus Surgery
George R. Beauchamp, M.D.
Prior to recommending and performing surgery, all appropriate evaluations should be completed. First and foremost, the measurement of the deviation of the eyes must be reliable and consistent with a known or working diagnosis. Sometimes these measurements may require more than one evaluation to assure consistency of the presence and degree of the strabismus. Second, the sensory status—how the eyes see and work together—of the eye should be evaluated as possible, and any problems with vision addressed. In particular, refractive errors requiring eyeglasses and patching for decreased vision (amblyopia) should be initiated or complete. Third, the general medical status should be known and stable, to assure that there will be little to no risk to anesthesia. Finally, your doctor will discuss with you the potential risks, the benefits to be derived, the limitations of surgical correction of strabismus and the alternatives to surgery and its timing. Importantly, you should have a clear picture of the problem, how it currently affects (and may change in the future) your or your child’s life, what is being proposed, what the experience is likely to be, and what the most likely outcomes will be.
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