What is a squint?

WHAT are the treatment options?

A squint or strabismus is a misalignment of your eyes. For the 5% of the population affected this can cause some problems with double vision and for others, not having straight eyes can make social interaction difficult for them, affecting their confidence, personal and professional relationships.

WhY Might I Want to see a doctor?

Our aim is to restore your confidence and feeling of well being, whether that is by improving your double vision or realigning your eyes to the normal position.

What will happen on my first appointment?

You will first be assessed by an orthoptist who is a specialist in measuring eye positions. 
Your consultant will then fully examine your eyes and go through all the findings and possible treatment options with you. 
Any further investigations required will be tailored to your needs. Patients often need more than one visit prior to making a decision about surgery.

What to BRING with you?

Please bring the following:

• All pairs of glasses or contact lenses you currently use
• A list of current medications you take
• Any notes or details you have about previous treatment or surgery you have had on your eyes.

Where will I be seen?

We are very happy to see you in Southampton General Hospital or the Spire Hospital Southampton. Surgery also takes place at these two hospitals.

Many people don’t realise you can have treatment for squints, and in fact not all squints require surgery.

Treatment options include:

• Refractive correction, using glasses or contact lenses.
• Prisms, which can be used temporarily by being stuck onto your glasses or permanently made into your glasses
• Botulinum Toxin (Botox)
  
• Surgery

WHAT does surgery entail?

Surgery is performed under general anaesthesia as a day case procedure. You will therefore need a pre-operative general health assessment.

The eye muscles are then moved using dissolvable stitches on one or both eyes to improve your eye alignment. The amount the muscles are moved are based on the measurements the orthoptists did at your clinic visits. 

Occasionally adjustable sutures can be used so that we can further adjust your eye position after you have woken up.

Afterwards your eyes will be red and feel a bit gritty, most patients don't need any additional painkillers other than paracetamol for the first couple of days. It is not unusual to have some initial double vision.

You will then be seen a couple of weeks later to check how well it is healing and then two months later to assess the final result of the surgery.

Where can I find further information?

www.squintclinic.com is a very useful resource for adults and children with lots of videos and information about conditions and treatment.

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