Quality of life improves after strabismus surgery in patients with Graves' orbitopathy.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the influence of strabismus surgery on quality of life (QoL) in Graves' orbitopathy (GO) patients. DESIGN Prospective study of case series. METHODS Consecutive GO-patients who were scheduled for their first strabismus surgery were included in the study. The patients completed the GO-QoL questionnaire within 3 months before the surgery and 2-4 months after the surgery. A complete orthoptic examination, including the field of binocular single vision (BSV), was performed. Clinically relevant response (CRR) in the QoL was also evaluated. RESULTS In this study, 28 patients were included. The GO-QoL score for visual functioning was 46.3±24.2 before surgery and 65.7±30.5 after surgery (P=0.009). The GO-QoL score for appearance changed from 60.6±25.9 to 69.5±24.2 (P=0.005). After surgery, the field of BSV increased from 24.3±34.8 to 68.5±36.0 points (P=0.000). A weak correlation was found between the field of BSV and the visual functioning score after surgery (r=0.417; P=0.034). CRR was found in 20 (71%) patients. Those with a CRR showed a larger field of BSV (P=0.002) and better GO-QoL scores (P=0.008). CONCLUSIONS GO-QoL score increases significantly for both visual functioning and appearance after the first strabismus surgery in GO-patients, showing the highest improvement for the visual functioning questions. Both the GO-QoL and field of BSV outcomes correlate well with the CRR.