Altered Postoperative Vision

Abstract

Strabismus surgeons who operate on older children or adults are aware that changes in vision following surgery occur frequently. We surveyed 108 consecutive adult patients undergoing strabismus surgery and asked them to rate the subjective degree of blurred vision they experienced in the first week after surgery on a scale of 1 to 10. The average patient rated their vision as blurred to a level of 3.6 on this scale, with a range of 1 to 10. It is notable that 25% of the patients in our study rated their vision as moderately to severely impaired (>5 on a 10-point scale) in the immediate postoperative period. In many cases, we believed that the blurred vision reported was due to temporary alterations of the tear film. The vision of all of our patients returned to its preoperative level, most within 1 week after surgery. This finding has significant potential implications for many patients who wish to drive and work in the immediate postoperative period and should be discussed with patients prior to surgery.