The clinical significance of corneal protection to the ocular surface in strabismus surgery

Objective To study the influence of corneal protection on the ocular surface and its clinical significance in strabismus surgery. Methods Strabismus patients aged from 7 to 45 years old were collected and divided into 3 groups according to the difference of corneal protection. At different time points, the first noninvasive tear film break-up time, average noninvasive tear film break-up time, and tear meniscus height were measured and the cornea fluorescein staining was evaluated. On the first day after surgery, the symptom of photophobia was observed. Finally, all the data were analyzed by statistics. Results The tear film break-up time wasn’t influenced by the surgery. Against other two groups,the occurrence rate of the symptom of photophobia and the positive cornea fluorescein staining were lower in the group B. The tear meniscus height of the group B increased little at 1 day after surgery and decreased to the preoperative level at one week after surgery. Conclusions Protecting the cornea in strabismus surgery by the 2% hydroxypropyl methycellulose can make patients more comfortable after operation.It’s simple and meaningful to do this during the surgery. Key words: Corneal protection; Strabismus surgery; The cornea fluorescein staining; Photophobia