Sixteen patients with large angle infantile esotropia with deviations of 80-90 prism dioptres were operated at the age of about 2 years. All patients underwent 8 mm bilateral medial rectus recessions. At the last follow up examination, 6 to 48 months postoperatively (average 16.3 months), successful horizontal alignment was achieved in 12 patients (75%). Four patients (25%) were undercorrected. Clinically significant limitation of adduction or convergence was not observed postoperatively in any of the patients. Consecutive exotropia was not encountered in this series but a longer follow up is probably needed in order to assess its delayed appearance. These results suggest that 8 mm recession of the medial recti is an effective procedure for the correction of large angle infantile esotropia of 80-90 prism dioptres and can be considered as an acceptable alternative to operations on three or four muscles.