Extrusion of non-absorbable suture from a superior oblique tuck without loss of surgical effect.

Background: Superior oblique tuck is an effective procedure for the treatment of superior oblique palsy. There has been no report of the extrusion of the non-absorbable suture typically used in this procedure. We describe a case of late extrusion of the non-absorbable suture used in a superior oblique tuck.

Research design: Case report.

Case report: A 4 year old boy underwent a successful left superior oblique tuck for a left superior oblique palsy. Eleven months after surgery, the non-absorbable suture used forf the tuck extruded coincidentally with ocular trauma. The suture was slightly adherent to a suture granuloma in the supranasal quadrant of the left eye and removed without loss of surgical effect of the superior oblique tuck.

Conclusion: Late extrusion of a non-absorbable suture used in a superior oblique tuck may not result in loss of surgical effect. However, this finding does not imply the acceptability of using an absorbable, instead of a non-absorbable, suture in this procedure.