Esotropia

Definition | Symptoms |  Treatment |  Clinic Information

Definition
Esotropia describes an inward turning eye and is the most common type of strabismus in infants. Young children with esotropia do not use their eyes together. In most cases, early surgery to align the eyes is needed to obtain binocular vision and prevent permanent vision loss.

"Accommodative esotropia" is a common form of esotropia which occurs in farsighted children, usually two years old or older. When a child is young, they can focus their eyes to adjust for the farsightedness but the focusing effort (accommodation) required to see clearly stimulates the eyes to cross. Glasses reduce the focusing effort and can straighten the eyes. Sometimes bifocals are necessary for close work. Eye drops, ointment or special lenses called prisms can also be used to straighten the eyes. Eye exercises occasionally help older children.

Symptoms

• Decreased vision
• Misaligned eyes

The symptoms described above may not necessarily mean that your child has esotropia. However, if you observe one or more of these symptoms, contact your child's eye doctor for a complete exam.

Treatment
Surgery is usually effective in treating esotropia. During surgery, the tension of the eye muscle in one or both eyes is adjusted. For example, in surgery for esotropia, the tight inner muscles may be removed from the wall of the eye and placed further back on the eye. This weakens their pull and allows the eye to move outward. Sometimes the outer muscles are tightened by shortening the muscle length to allow the eyes to move outward.

Clinic Information
For more information, see the Pediatric Ophthalmology & Adult Strabismus Clinic and the complete Clinic Services listing of the U-M Kellogg Eye Center.