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Photo: Science Photo Library STORY HIGHLIGHTS Plication spares blood vessels, causes less inflammation and bleeding, and is technically easier to perform than resection. Instead of amputating the front part of the eye muscle and tendon, the surgeon simply folds it up and leaves it in place. UCLAHEALTH.ORG Alternative Strabismus Surgery Offers Significant Benefits for Patient Outcomes Surgery to tighten and strengthen eye muscles is among the standard procedures to correct misaligned eyes in patients with strabismus. Now a UCLA Stein Eye Institute group is pioneering the North American introduction of an alternative muscle-strengthening approach that represents a fundamental change in the way strabismus surgery is performed. The alternative method, known as plication, offers numerous advantages and virtually no disadvantages compared to the approach taught for many decades in the United States, says Joseph L. Demer, MD, PhD, the Leonard Apt Professor of Pediatric Ophthalmology and chief of pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus. “This operation is less traumatic and more potentially reversible,” Dr. Demer explains. “It spares blood vessels, causes less inflammation and bleeding and is technically easier to perform 1-844-4UCLADR (1-844-482-5237) than resection. We are constantly looking for ways to optimize surgery and make it less invasive. The technical innovation of plication does that, while expanding the options surgeons have for treating strabismus.” Plication has been practiced in Europe for several decades. Dr. Demer learned the approach from strabismus surgeons in Heidelberg, Germany, more than 10 years ago. Since then, he has worked with UCLA Stein Eye Institute colleagues on studies to validate plication’s benefits.