The effect of strabismus surgery on the quality of life in children and adolescents.

PURPOSE: We aimed to examine the effect of strabismus surgery on quality of life levels in children and adolescents.

METHODS

The Health-Related Quality of Life Inventory version 4.0 (HRQOL 4.0), consisting of 23 questions and 4 subscales (physical functioning, emotional functioning, social functioning, and school problems), was administered to the children and adolescents who underwent strabismus surgery and their parents between December 2024 and June 2025, at preoperative and postoperative 1st and 3rd months. The postoperative deviation angle of the cases was 10 Prism Diopter (PD) or less. Strabismus surgery was performed by an Ophthalmologist, and the scales were evaluated by a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist.

RESULTS

27 cases were included in our study. 17 (62.9%) of the cases were girls and 10 (37.1%) were boys. The average age was 9.0 ± 3.9 (7-17) . In child and adolescents, the change in the physical functionality parameters of the cases was not statistically significant (p >0.05), but the change in the parameters of emotional functionality, social functionality and school-related problems between the preoperative, postoperative 1st month and postoperative 3rd month was statistically significant (p < 0.05). In the parents' proxy opinion of the child, the change in physical functionality, emotional functionality, social functionality parameters between preoperative, postoperative 1st month and postoperative 3rd month was statistically significant (p < 0.05), but in the parameters of school-related problems, preoperative, postoperative 1st month and postoperative 3rd month were statistically significant. The change between was not statistically significant(p >0.05) (Table 2).

CONCLUSION

Successful surgery for strabismus results in measurable improvement in the quality of life in children and adolescents and in the parents proxy opinion of the child's quality of life.