Is the frequency of adult strabismus surgery increasing?

Publisher: Blackwell Publishers Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 8208839 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1475-1313 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 02755408 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Ophthalmic Physiol Opt Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: 2002- : Oxford : Blackwell Publishers
Original Publication: Oxford ; New York : Pergamon Press, c1981-

Forecasting* ; Vision, Binocular*; Oculomotor Muscles/*surgery ; Ophthalmologic Surgical Procedures/*trends ; Strabismus/*surgery; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; England/epidemiology ; Female ; Health Services Research ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Ophthalmologic Surgical Procedures/statistics & numerical data ; Retrospective Studies ; Strabismus/epidemiology ; Strabismus/physiopathology ; Young Adult

Purpose: In recent years there has been an increase in evidence for the functional and psychosocial benefits of correcting strabismus/heterotropia in adults. This study aimed to establish whether there has been an associated change in the frequency of strabismus surgery performed on adults in England since 2000.
Methods: Data on strabismus surgery performed in England between 2000 and 2014 were obtained from Hospital Episode Statistics, Health and Social Care Information Centre, England. The frequency of strabismus surgery was analysed for different age groups. Data were considered in the context of total population data for England, obtained from the Office for National Statistics.
Results: There was little change in the total number of strabismus operations performed in 2000-2014 (1% reduction). In the same period the number of operations performed on children aged 0-15 years decreased by 17%. In contrast, there was a 24% increase in the number of strabismus operations performed on patients aged 15 years or older.
Conclusions: Although strabismus surgery is still most commonly performed on children, the data show there has been a significant increase in the number of strabismus operations performed on adults. We speculate that this increase is connected to the growing weight of evidence detailing the functional and psychosocial consequences of strabismus and the benefits of correction. These results have potential implications for the delivery of future care.
(© 2016 The Authors Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics © 2016 The College of Optometrists.)

II-LB-0813-20006 United Kingdom DH_ Department of Health; PDF-2013-06-057 United Kingdom DH_ Department of Health

Keywords: amblyopia; heterotropia; strabismus; surgery

Date Created: 20160629 Date Completed: 20170705 Latest Revision: 20220408

20240104

10.1111/opo.12306

27350186