Intra-operative quantification of the surgical gesture in orbital surgery: application to the proptosis reduction

[Reoperation after orbital decompression for Graves' ophthalmopathy]

INTRODUCTION

The aim of our study was to report the incidence of complications requiring early or late reoperation after bone and fat orbital decompression for Graves's ophthalmopathy.

PATIENTS AND METHOD

We conducted a retrospective bicentric study in the Maxillofacial Surgery Departments of Marseille and Lyon. Ninety patients were selected from 2006 to 2010, accounting for 168 orbital decompressions. The surgical indication was morphological and functional for all patients. Several surgical techniques were used: bone and fat orbital decompression by trans-palpebral resection, two or three wall orbital decompression, malar valgization.

RESULTS

Ten patients were reoperated for 12 revisions, two patients needed two revisions. There were four early revisions for two retro-orbital hematoma, one inadequate orbital decompression with persistent posterior compressive optic neuropathy, and one recurrent maxillary sinusitis with proptosis. The other eight revisions were carried out later for three cases of insufficient correction, four cases of proptosis relapse, and one for excessive correction with enophthalmos. All patients had satisfactory morphological and functional results despite revision surgery.

DISCUSSION

Most reoperations are difficult to anticipate and their prevention is based on more or less specific recommendations. Patients should be informed of the risks and benefits and accept the possibility of reoperation. A systematic multidisciplinary consultation would standardize and improve the management of these patients, by detecting patients at risk of complications and thus reoperation.

Anatomy-based surgical concepts for individualized orbital decompression surgery in graves orbitopathy. I. Orbital size and geometry

PURPOSE

To analyze orbital morphological parameters that potentially could influence the effect of decompression surgery on exophthalmos reduction in Graves orbitopathy, thus making decompression surgery more predictable.

METHODS

To generate a reference database, a CT-based study was performed in 140 orbits obtained from adult patients with unaffected orbits in a European white ethnicity. The following parameters were chosen: orbital volume, globe volume, globe to orbital volume ratio, and orbital cone angle. Volumes were measured on postprocessed CT data using morphometric techniques. To define the cone angle, a 3-dimensional approach was chosen using the program Amira.

RESULTS

Significant interindividual variation was found in orbital volume from 18.9 to 33.4 ml and in globe volume from 6.0 to 10.1 ml. The globe to orbital volume ratio showed a relatively broad variation from 0.25 to 0.4. Differences in the orbital cone angle from 39.7° to 65.7° were observed.

CONCLUSION

The experienced large variations in orbital morphology might significantly influence the degree of exophthalmos reduction, which can be obtained by standardized decompression procedures. Based on our results, a prospective clinical study will be conducted to test our hypothesis.