An Experiment of Orthoptic Therapy for a Patient with Diplopia in a Convalescent Rehabilitation Ward Where a Certified Orthoptist is Unavailable

Abstract

Oculomotor disorder and diplopia cause a decline in quality of life and activities of daily living. The usefulness of orthoptic exercise for oculomotor disorder has been proven. However, there are few reports about orthoptic therapy with diplopia after a cerebrovascular accident in a convalescent rehabilitation ward which usually has no certified orthoptist. A previous study reported that diplopia caused by traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage was improved after binocular gaze training. On the other hand, it was also reported that binocular training alone did not lead to complete recovery of diplopia, as no improvement was seen after the sixth day. We experienced a case of abducens nerve palsy and diplopia due to subarachnoid hemorrhage. Orthoptic treatment without special equipment restores disordered eye movement and improves double vision. Notably, binocular gazing training, devised to move the gazing target farther away or to the side, improved over a long period, unlike in a previous report. We report this case because it showed the availability of our attempted treatment for oculomotor disorder in a convalescent rehabilitation ward.