THE APPLICATION OF TYPE A BOTULINUM TOXIN FOR THE TREATMENT OF PATIENTS PRESENTING WITH VARIOUS FORMS OF STRABISMUS

Abstract

The use of type A botulinum toxin (BTX-A) for the treatment of strabismus was for the first time proposed in the early 1980s by the American ophthalmologist Alan Scott. The earliest applications of the botulinum toxin in the clinical practice included the treatment of strabismus and blepharospasm. The use of this agent can be particularly useful in the situations where the surgical treatment of strabismus is either undesirable or impracticable for one or another reasons; moreover, injections of BTX-A were successfully used to treat the patients presenting with severe diplopia. The results of the application of the botulinum toxin reported by different authors vary considerably which dictates the necessity of a deeper insight into the mechanisms underlying its action and their further investigation. The commonest complications of therapy with this medication are a temporary ptosis and vertical deviation. The systemic complications of BTX-A application have never been documented; its repeated injections are believed to be safe for the patients.