Efficacy of part-time patching in preventing recurrence after bilateral lateral rectus recession in children with intermittent exotropia

Abstract Background This study evaluate the efficacy of part-time patching in preventing recurrence after bilateral lateral rectus recession in patients with intermittent exotropia (IXT). Methods A total of 190 children aged 3–13 years who experienced recurrence after bilateral lateral rectus recession for IXT and received part-time patching were retrospectively reviewed. The patching was prescribed for 2 hours per day for more than 6 months. Patients who had a recurrence of 18 PD or more underwent reoperation. Changes in exodeviation and reoperation ratio after part-time patching were analyzed. Results A total of 34 patients (17.9%) received reoperation after part-time patching, and the reoperation ratio after 2 years was 20.3% as per the Kaplan–Meier survival analysis. Patients with a recurrence of 7 to 10 PD showed a significantly better effect compared to those with a recurrence of more than 10 PD (p < 0.001), and the reoperation ratio was also lower in the survival analysis (p = 0.004). The factor associated with reoperation in patients with part-time patching was the duration between the operation and the initiation of part-time patching (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.006, p = 0.002). Conclusions Part-time patching was effective in maintaining the efficacy of surgery and delaying the need of reoperation after bilateral lateral rectus recession. This effect was better in patients with a recurrence of ≤ 10 PD.