Trends in pediatric strabismus surgery in the new millennium: influence of funding and perceived benefits of surgery.

OBJECTIVE: The rate of strabismus surgery was previously reported to be decreasing in the United Kingdom and Ontario. Data on the influence of government funding on surgical trends and recent population trends for surgery in pediatric patients in Canada are limited. This study aims to analyze the trend in pediatric strabismus procedures in Ontario from 2000 to 2013.

DESIGN: A population based, retrospective data analysis.

METHODS: An analysis of the yearly volume of strabismus procedures in the pediatric population of Ontario was performed, subdivided by number of muscles repaired and repeat procedures. The number of ophthalmologists performing strabismus surgery on the pediatric population was analyzed, subdivided by high- and low-volume surgeons and career stage.

RESULTS: From 2000 to 2013, per 100,000 pediatric population, the number of total strabismus surgeries in Ontario increased 38.1%; rates of single-muscle surgery increased 12.8%, 2-muscle surgery increased 24.2%, and surgery of ≥3 muscles increased 135.4%. Repeat procedures increased 263.1% from 2000 to 2013 and represented 28.5% of all surgeries in 2013.The number of high-volume surgeons increased 33.3%, whereas low-volume surgeons decreased 61.4% during the same time span.

CONCLUSION: The number of pediatric strabismus procedures in Ontario has increased since 2000, and the practice has become increasingly subspecialized. This is likely due to changes in health care funding and increased parental and physician awareness of the functional and psychosocial benefits of strabismus surgery.