Surgical treatment of ventromedial strabismus following trauma in a dog

ABSTRACT

A 1‐year‐old male neutered Old German Herding dog presented with left ventromedial strabismus, enophthalmos, third eyelid protrusion and restricted ocular motility following (peri)ocular trauma 3 months prior. Mechanical restriction of globe movement was confirmed via a forced duction test under general anaesthesia. Computed tomography revealed mild thickening of the left ventral extraocular muscles (ventral rectus and ventral oblique) suggestive of adhesion formation secondary to trauma. Surgical exploration via an approach from the bulbar side of the nictitating membrane revealed severely altered and fibrosed tissue, including the conjunctiva and the cartilage and gland of the third eyelid. Within the ventral orbit, a shortened linear structure (ventral extraocular muscles) was identified and blindly dissected. This restored normal ocular motility and resolved both strabismus and enophthalmos. Postoperative systemic corticosteroids were tapered over a period of 5 weeks. Five months postoperatively, the patient demonstrated an excellent clinical outcome with normal eye position and movement.