Painless recurrent orbital wall infarction secondary to sickle cell disease: A case report

Purpose

Describe the various presentations of the rare entity of orbital wall infarction secondary to sickle cell disease and highlight the importance of magnetic resonance imaging in differentiating the entity from other similar diagnoses.

Observation

A 4-year-old child presented to the hospital with bilateral recurrent painless orbital wall infarction secondary to sickle cell disease. Orbital wall infarctions have been described before in the literature; However, the painless and recurrent nature is intriguing.

Conclusion

Orbital wall infarctions secondary to sickle cell disease represent an unusual presentation of the disease and often pose a diagnostic dilemma. When considering differentiating orbital wall infarctions from other resembling entities, magnetic resonance imaging is considered superior to computed tomography due to its ability to delineate the ischemic changes in the bone marrow, which further aids in the diagnosis. In situations where the orbital wall infarction does not lead to orbital compression syndrome, a conservative approach should suffice.

Vaso-occlusive Infarction of the Lateral Orbital Wall With Ipsilateral Temporalis Muscle Ischemia

An 18-month-old boy with sickle cell disease developed progressive left periorbital edema and temporalis fullness. Imaging revealed two inferotemporal subperiosteal fluid collections and adjacent temporalis muscle thickening. After undergoing an anterior orbitotomy with drainage and biopsy, the patient was diagnosed as having a vaso-occlusive sickle cell crisis involving the lateral orbit. [J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. 2020;57:e78-e81.].

Nontraumatic orbital hemorrhage

Nontraumatic orbital hemorrhage (NTOH) is uncommon. I summarize the published reports of NTOH and offer a classification based on anatomic and etiologic factors. Anatomic patterns of NTOH include diffuse intraorbital hemorrhage, "encysted" hemorrhage (hematic cyst), subperiosteal hemorrhage, hemorrhage in relation to extraocular muscles, and hemorrhage in relation to orbital floor implants. Etiologic factors include vascular malformations and lesions, increased venous pressure, bleeding disorders, infection and inflammation, and neoplastic and nonneoplastic orbital lesions. The majority of NTOH patients can be managed conservatively, but some will have visual compromise and may require operative intervention. Some will suffer permanent visual loss, but a large majority have a good visual outcome.