Historical Perspective: Nonsurgical Treatment of Intermittent Exotropia

Abstract

Intermittent exotropia is rich in our orthoptic history, with different modes of therapy as well as surgical methods to improve the eye drifting. We explore the very earliest nonsurgical treatments documented from the Aeginaeta mask from 600 A.D. to a plethora of devices and techniques throughout the 1800s and 1900s, including stereograms, the cheiroscope, the Tibbs Binocular Trainer, and finally to computerized orthoptic programs in the twenty-first century. We note several other founding and instrumental scientists and researchers in the field's early beginning as well as the American heritage of orthoptics. From Javal, Hering, and Mary and Edmund Maddox to Elizabeth Stark, Burian, Scobee, von Noorden, Dorothy Thompson, and Sally Moore, we delve into many influential ideas, theories, and inventions. The scientific basis for many treatments and the monumental advancements made in the field of ocular motility will be discussed.