[Diplopia through toxic myopathy after cataract surgery].

UNLABELLED: Cataract surgery is one of the most successful procedures in the last decades. In this paper we present the evolution and the treatment results in four cases of post cataract surgery diplopia, analyzing the causes influencing the outcome of strabismus. MATERIAL AND METHOD: In the last three years, four cases of post cataract surgery diplopia have been diagnosed in the Ophthalmological Clinic of Cluj. The surgical procedure used in all four patients was phacoemulsification and artificial lens implantation. The patients received para- or retrobulbar xylocaine 2- % anesthesia. Hypertropia was present in all patients, with a variable time of onset. The evolution of diplopia decided the therapeutic attitude. One patient was treated with extraocular muscle surgery. The second one received prismatic optical correction. In one patient diplopia disappeared spontaneously after one month of evolution. The fourth patient refused surgical correction. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The two treated patients (surgery and prismatic optical correction) had a favorable outcome. The following conclusions could be drawn. 1. Toxic myopathy is the main cause of ocular deviations and diplopia after cataract surgery. 2. The inferior rectus muscle is the most frequently affected. 3. Hypertropia is the most frequent ocular deviation. 4. Post cataract surgery diplopia may disappear spontaneously or can be treated surgically (extraocular muscle surgery) or optically (prismatic optical correction).