Efficacy of Fat and Perifascial Areolar Tissue Graft in Refractory Esotropia: A Case Report

Purpose: This case report presents a novel approach for the management of refractory esotropia using adhesiolysis and fat and perifascial areolar tissue (PAT) transplantation.Case summary: A 62-year-old male presented with left eye strabismus fixus following iatrogenic medial rectus (MR) muscle injury and medial orbital wall fracture during endoscopic sinus surgery. One month later, he underwent MR laceration repair and orbital wall reconstruction. Despite three subsequent interventions for exotropia and its subsequent conversion to esotropia, the left eye esodeviation progressively worsened, culminating in strabismus fixus. Initial examination revealed significant left eye esotropia with fixed gaze and 5-mm enophthalmos. Surgery included implant removal, adhesiolysis between the eyeball and surrounding tissues, scar and MR recession, and placement of a fat and PAT graft on the medial aspect of the eyeball to prevent postoperative re-adhesion. Three years of follow-up demonstrated sustained orthophoria in primary gaze with improved extraocular muscle function and enophthalmos.Conclusions: Fat and PAT graft has potential in oculoplastics for preventing re-adhesion and augmenting orbital volume in patients with refractory restrictive strabismus due to multiple surgeries.