Endonasal bilateral simultaneous orbital decompression.

OBJECTIVE

To study the morbidity of the operation, to investigate it's safety and effectiveness in order to establish if it is reasonable to offer it as treatment to patients in one sitting instead of a staged procedure. Finally, to indentify the patient's long term satisfaction and to establish best practice.

DESIGN

Retrospective case series study and prospective telephone interview.

SETTING

Teaching General Hospital, Scotland, UK.

SUBJECTS: 14 patients with dysthyroid orbitopathy who underwent the operation over a 4 year period.

RESULTS

Proptosis improved in all but one of the cases. There was a relatively small morbidity and short inpatient stay. A significant amount of patients reported satisfaction with the results. All patients expressed strong preference for the simultaneous procedure instead of a staged one.

CONCLUSIONS

The study shows that for the management of orbitopathy , bilateral simultaneous orbital decompression with endoscopic approach is a safe and effective operation, with small morbidity and significant patient satisfaction. Therefore, it is reasonable to offer it to patients instead of a staged procedure.