What is congenital exotropia?
Newborn babies commonly have difficulty keeping their eyes straight. While this tendency for the eyes to wander at times is normal until four months of age, any constant eye misalignment during the newborn period should be evaluated by an ophthalmologist. Congenital, or infantile, exotropia, is an outward turning of the eyes from birth or early infancy. Esotropia (crossing of the eyes) is much more common than exotropia in newborns. In fact, constant exotropia is so uncommon in infants that pediatric ophthalmologists generally will investigate the cause to be sure that no additional problem is present.
