Researchers link infantile esotropia and developmental delays.

Medical News Today (4/19) reported that ”Baies with an eye-alignment disorder called infantile esotropia have delays in motor development milestones, but development 'catches up' after corrective surgery," according to a study in the Apr. issue of the Journal of AAPOS (American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus). James R. Drover, Ph.D., of the Retina Foundation of Southwest Texas, Dallas, and colleagues, "assessed developmental milestones in 161 infants with infantile esotropia, or crossed eyes."
Next, "the researchers had parents complete an infant development questionnaire before and/or after corrective surgery" that "assessed fine-motor skills (sensorimotor development)," and "large-muscle skills (gross motor development)." The investigators also examined a control "group of children with normal eye alignment." Prior to surgery, the babies "with esotropia had delays in both" sensorimotor and gross motor milestones. But, after surgery, the babies "had no delays in developmental milestones." Indeed, they "had a faster rate of sensorimotor development, suggesting that correcting their binocular vision helped their development to 'catch up' to that of normal infants."