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Congenital absence of inferior rectus muscle a rare cause of apparent palsies
In rare instances, congenital absence of the inferior rectus muscle may be the cause of an apparent inferior rectus muscle palsy, a small case series suggests. Muscle surgery in combination with botulinum toxin injection can help improve function and cosmesis of these patients, the study authors said.
William Astle, MD, FRCS, and colleagues at the University of Calgary (Canada) describe three cases of isolated congenital absence of the inferior rectus muscle in the October issue of Journal of AAPOS.
The authors said apparent palsies of the inferior rectus with no definite cause should raise “a high index of suspicion” of absence of the muscle. Orbital imaging can confirm the diagnosis. Surgical correction may involve the inferior transposition of the horizontal rectus muscles.