Outcomes of Orbital Blow-Out Fracture Repair Performed Beyond 6 Weeks After Injury.

PURPOSE: Blow-out fractures cause expansion of the bony orbital walls and prolapse of orbital contents in the sinuses. This can result in diplopia, enophthalmos, and hypoglobus. Early surgical repair has been previously recommended, however, recent reports show that delayed surgery can also be effective. In this study, the clinical and functional outcome of patients with delayed presentation and blow-out fracture repair beyond 6 weeks after injury are described. METHODS: This is a noncomparative retrospective study. Medical records of adult patients with late orbital floor fracture repair performed by 4 surgeons from April 2008 to January 2014 at 3 tertiary referral centers were reviewed. All repairs were performed more than 6 weeks from the time of injury. Patients with prior orbital fracture repair surgery were excluded. RESULTS: Twenty patients were included in the study. The duration from time of injury to surgery ranged from 7 weeks to 21 years with a mean of 19 months. Follow up ranged from 6 weeks to 56 months (mean 8 months). Mean age was 48 years (range, 25-80). Male to female ratio was 11:9. Surgery was performed on 10 right eyes and 10 left eyes. CT imaging demonstrated 10 patients had isolated floor fractures, while the remaining 10 patients had combined floor and medial wall fractures. Four patients also had associated facial fractures that did not require surgery. Indications for surgery included enophthalmos of 2 mm or more (18 of 20) and/or significant diplopia within 30° of primary gaze (6 of 20). Mean pre- and postoperative enophthalmos was 2.4 ± 0.9 mm and 0.3 ± 0.2 mm, respectively, corresponding to a mean reduction in enophthalmos of 2.1 ± 1.2 mm (range, 1-5 mm). Four of 7 patients with hypoglobus ranging from 1.5 mm to 8 mm preoperatively had complete resolution postoperatively, the remaining 3 patients showed reduced hypoglobus. Of the 12 patients that had diplopia preoperatively in any position of gaze, 6 patients had complete resolution of diplopia postoperatively, 4 patients had reduced but residual diplopia in extreme gaze, and 2 patients had persistent diplopia, in primary position and down gaze, respectively. Two patients had poor vision that precluded the manifestation of diplopia. None of the 6 patients without preoperative diplopia developed symptoms post operatively. CONCLUSION: Surgical repair of blow-out fractures of the orbit occurring more than 6 weeks or more from injury can achieve marked improvement in both the functional and cosmetic aspects. The likelihood of induced diplopia is low. Orbital floor fracture repair should be considered to successfully treat enophthalmos or diplopia in patients with delayed clinical presentation, even decades postinjury.

Safety Profile and Effects of Pulsed Methylprednisolone on Vital Signs in Thyroid Eye Disease.

Objective. To analyze changes in vital signs (heart rate (HR), systolic (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP)) during and after intravenous methylprednisolone (IVMP) and any other adverse effects. Methods. Retrospective review of charts of patients who received IVMP as treatment regime for thyroid eye disease. All subjects had vital signs charted during and after infusions. Results. This study included 38 subjects and a total of 242 infusions administered. IVMP resulted in a small but significant percentage drop in mean SBP at 30 min (p < 0.001) and 60 min (p = 0.03) but no difference at 90 min. There was also small but significant percentage drop in mean DBP and HR (DBP: p < 0.001 for 30 min, p = 0.001 for 60 min, and p = 0.02 for 90 min and HR: p < 0.001 for 30 min, 60 min, and 90 min). There were no cumulative effects on change of blood pressure or HR. There were 6 episodes of bradycardia (2.5%) and 12 episodes of moderate to severe hypertension (5%). No significant cardiovascular or hepatic toxicity was found. Conclusion. IVMP is relatively safe and efficacious. IVMP demonstrated mild and noncumulative effects on vital signs. Severe hypertension may occur in susceptible individuals such as those with underlying hypertension and uncontrolled thyroid dysfunction, whereas bradycardia may be more likely in those on beta-blockers.

Prospective audit of ptosis surgery at the Singapore National Eye Centre: two-year results.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the demographics, presentation, and surgical outcomes of patients undergoing ptosis surgery in an Asian population in a prospective manner. METHODS: A prospective ptosis audit was conducted over a 2-year period from January 2010 to December 2011 in a tertiary eye hospital in Singapore. All patients undergoing ptosis surgery by, or under the supervision of, an oculoplastic-trained consultant in the institution were included. Institutional Review Board approval was obtained for the study. RESULTS: This study comprises 302 patients, of which 236 were acquired and 66 were congenital ptosis cases. Levator repair (77.2%) was the most commonly performed procedure, followed by levator resection (13.9%) and brow suspension (8.9%). Forty-seven (10.1%) eyes had readjustment within 2 weeks, the reasons for readjustment being eyelid height undercorrection (n = 35), eyelid height overcorrection (n = 9), and unsatisfactory eyelid contour (n = 4). Postoperatively, 93.8% of patients showed an increase in marginal reflex distance-1 (MRD1), 91.3% achieved symmetry or <1 mm of asymmetry in MRD1, 98.5% had good eyelid contour, and 74.3% had symmetric eyelid crease. On a scale of 1 to 10, 83.1% of patients gave a subjective grade of 7 or better. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first prospective ptosis surgery audit in an Asian population and takes a leading step in assessing both subjective and objective surgical outcomes in a prospective manner. With the continuation of this audit in years to come, it will allow us to generate clinical outcomes in a robust manner and allow for more reliable benchmarking with major centers elsewhere.

A 55-mm object inside a 40-mm orbit.

A 43-year-old man was struck in the left orbit with his board while surfing and sustained a 3-cm laceration above his left eyebrow. The laceration was sutured closed primarily at a local emergency room. When he presented to UCSD oculoplastics for suture removal, he complained of diplopia with upgaze and was found to have hypoglobus on clinical exam. An orbital CT demonstrated a hyperintense linear signal within the orbit. The patient underwent surgical exploration. A 55-mm-length piece of fiberglass from the patient's surfboard was removed from his orbit. This case demonstrates the importance of having a high index of suspicion for retained orbital foreign bodies, regardless of the size of the object inflicting the injury.

Blepharoplasty complications: prevention and management.

This article presents common and rare complications following blepharoplasty, with discussion of avoidance of these complications through presurgical planning and review. Management of the complications is provided, with surgical details supported by images and advice for the best approaches. The complications discussed include hemorrhage, infection, corneal abrasion, ptosis, lacrimal gland injury, and residual excess skin.

Osteotome as an adjunctive instrument in endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy.

PURPOSE: To report the novel use of the osteotome as an adjunctive instrument in Endoscopic Dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective interventional case series of 15 patients, underwent endoscopic DCR at the Singapore National Eye Centre, by a single ophthalmologist and rhinologist between April 2009 and April 2011.All patients' case records were reviewed and the information recorded included: patients' demographics, level of obstruction of the lacrimal system, operative time, postoperative symptoms and complications (if any), and the length of follow-up. All patients had preoperative syringing to determine the level of obstruction, and had postoperative syringing only if there were any complaints of epiphora.All surgeries were recorded on video. The osteotome and mallet were used in all patients to augment the bone removal, and Crawford stent (MIRA®) intubation was done in all patients and left in situ for 2 months. RESULTS: A total of 15 patients were reviewed and analyzed from April 2009 to August 2010. Ages ranged from 22 to 77 years of age underwent endoscopic DCR with Crawford stent (MIRA ®) intubation. All patients had syringing before surgery and all had only nasolacrimal duct obstruction except 1 patient who had common canalicular obstruction. The surgery was carried out as described above with no intraoperative or postoperative complications in any of the patients. Duration of surgery ranged from 22 to 65 minutes with a mean time of 42.6 minutes. All patients were followed up from 2 to 11 months with resolution of epiphora in all cases. CONCLUSION: The use of the osteotome and mallet, in combination with the Kerrison rongeur and diamond drill, has been found to be useful in creating a large osteotomy in endoscopic DCR. It has allowed greater ease and speed in performing this procedure, especially for patients with thicker bone and narrower nasal cavities.