Vertical orbital dystopia.

Many pathologic processes may lead to vertical orbital dystopia. We reviewed 47 consecutive cases seen over a 13-year period. Twenty-nine patients underwent eye leveling procedures to improve cosmesis, 2 of these by camouflage procedures and 27 by orbital translocation. Ten patients had 16 secondary operations. There was one death, serious complications occurred in 3 patients, and nuisance complications occurred in 20 others. Seven patients developed diplopia postoperatively, and in 6 patients it was troublesome. In these, it resolved fully in 2 patients, improved to be of no consequence in 2, and in the remaining 2 troublesome symptoms persisted requiring inferior oblique muscle recession in 1. Binocular vision was never restored when not present preoperatively, and in 3 patients temporary loss occurred. There was an overall modest but significant improvement in appearance after surgery. It is concluded that vertical orbital translocation is rewarding and worthwhile.

Dissociated eye movements in craniosynostosis: a hypothesis revived.

A characteristic pattern of dissociated eye movements was observed in a large proportion of our patients with a variety of craniosynostosis syndromes. These anomalies simulate overaction of the inferior oblique and underaction of the superior oblique muscles which, however, cannot fully explain the abnormalities. In a number of cases, excyclorotation of the muscle cone was observed, with the upper pole of the eye tilted away from the midline. It is postulated that such excyclorotation of the eyes will lead to dissociated eye movements which can be explained on physiological grounds according to Hering's law. This paper presents a review of our patients and evidence to support this hypothesis.