Botulinum Treatment of Childhood Strabismus

Abstract

The surgical treatment of childhood strabismus has evolved over the twentieth century to its present state of refinement. In contrast, the use of Botulinum Toxin for strabismus has been limited to about one decade and also limited by US FDA restraints. The primary purpose of the initial phase of the investigation was to determine the safety and side effects of this treatment, as well as its effectiveness in a wide variety of strabismus problems. Although this was not designed to be a well controlled, definitive study comparing this treatment to surgical treatment, a great deal of very useful information has been obtained that would be of interest to strabismologists and perhaps serve as a springboard for more definitive prospective studies. The four authors have pooled their data for Botulinum Treatment of childhood strabismus where a minimum of six months follow up was available.