CSF orbitorrhoea with tension pneumocephalus. (1/65)

A seventy eight year old man sustained penetrating injury to right orbit about 15 years ago. Later he developed right orbital infection leading to phthisis bulbi. Two months before admission he developed CSF leak from the right orbit, tension pneumocephalous and meningitis. A rare case of CSF orbitorrhoea is reported here along with the discussion on mechanisms and management.  (+info)

Orbital blow-out fractures: correlation of preoperative computed tomography and postoperative ocular motility. (2/65)

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Although the management of orbital blow-out fractures was controversial for many years, refined imaging with computed tomography (CT) helped to narrow the poles of the debate. Many orbital surgeons currently recommend repair if fracture size portends late enophthalmos, or if diplopia has not substantially resolved within 2 weeks of the injury. While volumetric considerations have been generally well-served by this approach, ocular motility outcomes have been less than ideal. In one series, almost 50% of patients had residual diplopia 6 months after surgery. A fine network of fibrous septa that functionally unites the periosteum of the orbital floor, the inferior fibrofatty tissues, and the sheaths of the inferior rectus and oblique muscles was demonstrated by Koornneef. Entrapment between bone fragments of any of the components of this anatomic unit can limit ocular motility. Based on the pathogenesis of blow-out fractures, in which the fibrofatty-muscular complex is driven to varying degrees between bone fragments, some measure of soft tissue damage might be anticipated. Subsequent intrinsic fibrosis and contraction can tether globe movement, despite complete reduction of herniated orbital tissue from the fracture site. We postulated that the extent of this soft tissue damage might be estimated from preoperative imaging studies. METHODS: Study criteria included: retrievable coronal CT scans; fractures of the orbital floor without rim involvement, with or without extension into the medial wall; preoperative diplopia; surgical repair by a single surgeon; complete release of entrapped tissues; and postoperative ocular motility outcomes documented with binocular visual fields (BVFs). Thirty patients met all criteria. The CT scans and BVFs were assessed by different examiners among the authors. Fractures were classified into 3 general categories and 2 subtypes to reflect the severity of soft tissue damage within each category. "Trap-door" injuries, in which bone fragments appeared to have almost perfectly realigned, were classified as type I fractures. In the I-A subtype, no orbital tissue was visible on the sinus side of the fracture line. In the I-B subtype, soft tissue with the radiodensity of orbital fat was visible within the maxillary sinus. In type II fractures, bone fragments were distracted and soft tissue was displaced between them. In the II-A subtype, soft tissue displacement was less than, or proportional to, bone fragment distraction. In the II-B subtype, soft tissue displacement was greater than bone fragment distraction. In type III fractures, displaced bone fragments surrounded displaced soft tissue in all areas. In the III-A subtype, soft tissue and bone were moderately displaced. In the III-B subtype, both were markedly displaced. Motility outcomes were quantified by measuring the vertical excursion in BVFs. The interval between trauma and surgical repair was also determined. RESULTS: Among the 15 patients with a motility outcome in BVFs which was poorer than the median (86 degrees or less of single binocular vertical excursion), 4 patients (27%) had type A fractures; 11 patients (73%) had type B fractures. Among the 15 patients with a better outcome than the median (88 degrees or more), 10 patients (67%) had type A fractures; 5 patients (33%) had type B fractures. These differences became more defined as analysis moved away from the median. Among 5 patients with type B fractures and better than the median result in BVFs, 3 patients (60%) had surgical repair during the first week after injury. Among the 11 patients with type B fractures and less than the median result, 1 patient (9%) had repair during the first week. CONCLUSIONS: When the CT-depicted relationship between bone fragments and soft tissues is considered, a wide spectrum of injuries is subsumed under the rubric of blow-out fractures. In general, greater degrees of soft tissue incarceration or displacement, with presumably greater intrinsic damage and subsequent fibrosis, appear to result in poorer motility outcomes. Although this retrospective study does not conclusively prove its benefit, an urgent surgical approach to selected injuries should be considered.  (+info)

Mechanisms of orbital floor fractures: a clinical, experimental, and theoretical study. (3/65)

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the two accepted mechanisms of the orbital blow-out fracture (the hydraulic and the buckling theories) from a clinical, experimental, and theoretical standpoint. METHODS: Clinical cases in which blow-out fractures resulted from both a pure hydraulic mechanism and a pure buckling mechanism are presented. Twenty-one intact orbital floors were obtained from human cadavers. A metal rod was dropped, experimentally, onto each specimen until a fracture was produced, and the energy required in each instance was calculated. A biomathematical model of the human bony orbit, depicted as a thin-walled truncated conical shell, was devised. Two previously published (by the National Aeronautics Space Administration) theoretical structural engineering formulas for the fracture of thin-walled truncated conical shells were used to predict the energy required to fracture the bone of the orbital floor via the hydraulic and buckling mechanisms. RESULTS: Experimentally, the mean energy required to fracture the bone of the human cadaver orbital floor directly was 78 millijoules (mj) (range, 29-127 mj). Using the engineering formula for the hydraulic theory, the predicted theoretical energy is 71 mj (range, 38-120 mj); for the buckling theory, the predicted theoretical energy is 68 mj (range, 40-106 mj). CONCLUSION: Through this study, we have experimentally determined the amount of energy required to fracture the bone of the human orbital floor directly and have provided support for each mechanism of the orbital blow-out fracture from a clinical and theoretical basis.  (+info)

Strabismus due to flap tear of a rectus muscle. (4/65)

PURPOSE: To present a previously unreported avulsion-type injury of the rectus muscle, usually the inferior rectus, and detail its diagnosis and operative repair. METHODS: Thirty-five patients underwent repair of flap tears of 42 rectus muscles. The muscle abnormality was often subtle, with narrowing or thinning of the remaining attached global layer of muscle. The detached flap of external (orbital) muscle was found embedded in surrounding orbital fat and connective tissue. Retrieval and repair were performed in each case. RESULTS: Fourteen patients had orbital fractures, 7 had blunt trauma with no fracture, and 9 had suspected trauma but did not undergo computed tomographic scan. Five patients experienced this phenomenon following retinal detachment repair. Diagnostically, the predominant motility defect in 25 muscles was limitation toward the field of action of the muscle, presumably as a result of a tether created by the torn flap. These tethers simulated muscle palsy. Seventeen muscles were restricted away from their field of action, simulating entrapment. The direction taken by the flap during healing determined the resultant strabismus pattern. All patients presenting with gaze limitation toward an orbital fracture had flap tears. The worst results following flap tear repair were seen in patients who had undergone orbital fracture repair before presentation, patients who had undergone previous attempts at strabismus repair, and patients who experienced the longest intervals between the precipitating event and the repair. The best results were obtained in patients who underwent simultaneous fracture and strabismus repair or early strabismus repair alone. CONCLUSIONS: Avulsion-type flap tears of the extraocular muscles are a common cause of strabismus after trauma, and after repair for retinal detachment. Early repair produces the best results, but improvement is possible despite long delay.  (+info)

Antibiotics in orbital floor fractures. (5/65)

A short cut review was carried out to establish whether prophylactic antibiotics are indicated in patients with undisplaced maxillary or orbital floor fractures. Altogether 214 papers were found using the reported search, but none presented any evidence to answer the clinical question. More research is needed in this area and, in the mean time, local advice should be followed.  (+info)

Clinical analysis of internal orbital fractures in children. (6/65)

In order to describe the demographics, etiologic and clinical factors, and outcomes of orbital fractures in children, we have reviewed a case series of 17 patients under 18 years of age with internal orbital fractures (i.e., without involvement of the orbital rim) presenting to the Ghil hospital between March 2000 and June 2001. For 15 of the patients, we performed orbital wall reconstruction with Medpor barrier sheet implantation (thickness 1mm) through transconjunctival approach under endoscopic guidance, while maintaining mere observation on the other 2 patients. There were 14 male and 3 female patients. The most common cause of fractures was accident (7 cases). Inferior wall involvement was most commonly seen, and the trapdoor type fracture was the most common. Thirteen patients had extraocular muscle restriction, 9 had nausea/vomiting and 5 had bradycardia. Diplopia of 9 patients disappeared after 43 +/- 23 days. Nausea/vomiting and bradycardia disappeared rapidly after surgical intervention in all cases. These results suggest that trapdoor fractures with soft tissue entrapment are the most common in pediatric orbital wall fractures, and that most of them are associated with nausea/vomiting. We suggest that early diagnosis, and prompt surgical intervention are required for those patients with oculocardiac reflex.  (+info)

Transcaruncular approach to blowout fractures of the medial orbital wall. (7/65)

Transcutaneous and transconjunctival approaches are still frequently used to repair orbital wall fractures. However, medial orbital wall fracture remains a challenging area for plastic surgeons due to technical difficulties and postoperative scars. The transcaruncular approach is described and we present our experience with this approach to access the medial orbital wall in 10 patients with blowout fracture in the medial orbital region. All patients were corrected satisfactorily without cutaneous scar. The transcaruncular approach is a useful technique to repair medial orbital wall fractures.  (+info)

Intraorbital mucocele associated with old minor trauma--case report. (8/65)

A 46-year-old white man complained of swelling in the left orbital region. The only significant event in his medical history was minor trauma which occurred during ice hockey 15 years previously. On admission, the only clinical finding was left-sided exophthalmos. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed a left intraorbital cystic mass lesion. The cystic mass was completely removed through a left subfrontal extradural approach. There was no anatomical contact with the paranasal sinuses and the orbital walls were intact. The cystic mass was isolated in the orbital cavity. Histological examination confirmed the diagnosis of mucocele. Generally, the cause of mucocele is chronic sinusitis, but we suspect that the old minor trauma was the most likely cause in the present case.  (+info)