Stereopsis in children operated on from strabismus at the Cuban Institute of Ophthalmology

Objective: to determine the existence of stereopsis in children operated on from strabismus in Ramón Pando Ferrer Cuban Institute of Ophthalmology. Methods: observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study from March to October, 2011. Fifty children were randomly selected to undergo a complete ophthalmologic exam. Results: females 60 percent and the 3 to 4 years-old age group 32 percent prevailed. In the study group, 84 percent of the patients had visual acuity of 1.0, and just 10 had stereopsis. The patients younger than 2 years old represented the highest number with postsurgical stereopsis. Most of the children were diagnosed as congenital esotropia, but just 5 children had stereopsis added to this type of strabismus. Another type of strabismus found was the intermittent exotropia. Conclusions: in the strabismus surgery, reaching the ocular alignment and its stability as well as the vision co-ordination in both eyes, does not attain very encouraging sensory outcomes when a child is operated on at later age. An early surgical intervention is important to improve the functional visual results, mainly before 2 years of age