Eight eye muscle surgical treatment in a patient with acquired nystagmus and strabismus: a case report

The purpose of this paper is to outline the clinical benefits and electrophysiological changes after extraocular muscle surgery for acquired nystagmus and strabismus in an adult patient. a 41-year-old Caucasian female suffered from oscillopsia, bilateral cranial nerve IV palsies, and vertical nystagmus. Medical therapy was ineffective. She underwent bilateral, eight muscle surgical procedure which included: tenectomies of the superior oblique OU, myectomies of the inferior oblique OU, recessions of the medial rectus muscles OU (with OD on a post-operatively adjustable suture), and differential recessions of the superior rectus muscles OU. This provided marked improvement in her symptoms. These results suggest that surgery for acquired nystagmus can affect an improvement in the characteristics of the nystagmus that result in visual complaints. Combining "nystagmus surgery" plus strabismus surgery may be a viable option in some adult patients with acquired nystagmus who are unresponsive to medical therapy.