To study the secondary management of strabismus due to third nerve palsy using bovine pericardium (Tutopatch®) when previous conventional surgical therapy had failed. Review of our clinic records of selected patients with third nerve palsy, in whom residual deviation had been managed using Tutopatch® after previous surgical correction. The squint angle was measured preoperatively, and at 1 day, 3 months, and if possible 6 months postoperatively. Nine patients were enrolled in this study. One patient had mainly residual vertical deviation and was corrected with tendon elongation of the contralateral superior rectus. Three patients were operated on with tendon elongation of the lateral rectus muscle with or without medial rectus muscle resection and/or advancement (Group 1). Lateral rectus splitting after tendon elongation in addition to the resection and/or advancement of the medial rectus was performed in five patients with complete third nerve palsy (Group 2). In Group 1, the preoperative median squint angle was -20° (range -17° to -25°), which improved postoperatively to -4.5° (range -12° to +3°). In Group 2, the preoperative horizontal and vertical median squint angles were -27° (range -20° to -40°) and 0.5° (range 0° and 20°), respectively. Postoperatively, they had improved to -12.5° (range-2° to -25°), and 1.5° (range 0° to 7°), respectively. Two patients of Group 2 were re-operated due to residual exotropia. No postoperative complications were observed in any patient. In this small series several complex re-do situations of patients with third nerve palsy were evaluated in which Tutopatch® markedly improved outcomes after an initially ineffective surgical management. For better evaluation of its usefulness a study with more patients is recommended.
Keywords: Extra-ocular muscles surgery; lyophilized bovine pericardium (Tutopatch®); re-operations for third nerve palsy.