Atypical clinical presentation of oculomotor (III) nerve palsy.

The atypical clinical presentations of three patients with an oculomotor (III) nerve palsy are outlined. The first patient is a 49-year-old with a painful, pupil-sparing ophthalmoplegia of sudden onset due to a pituitary adenoma which had eroded into the cavernous sinus. The second patient is a 7-year-old with a traumatic III nerve palsy who despite full recovery of her oculomotility, has been symptomatic due to a permanent internal ophthalmoplegia. The third patient is an 8-year-old who has undergone prolonged optometric therapy for an "atypical esotropia," but in fact has a congenital III nerve palsy with oculomotor synkinesis and deep amblyopia.