Visual Acuity in Orbital Floor Fractures: Does Surgical Subspecialty Management Matter?

PURPOSE: At the time of this writing, there is no consensus regarding orbital floor fracture (OFFx) management. Proper management of OFFxs is imperative to help prevent well known complications and the possibility of decreased visual acuity (VA). The VA outcomes have been largely underreported in the literature. The current study identifies the complications of the different subspecialty management including VA outcome.

METHODS

A retrospective chart review study was performed to identify patients who suffered an OFFx and were managed by ophthalmology alone or in conjunction with either ENT or oral maxillofacial surgery at a single hospital. The primary outcome included VA at injury and subsequent visits. Secondary outcomes included epiphora, diplopia, enophthalmos, infraorbital dysesthesia, and decreased motility. Data were analyzed using Microsoft Office Excel 2007 using the Student t-test to find a P value < 0.05.

RESULTS

There were 54 patients with OFFx. The majority were Black (83.3%) and men (77.8%) with their average age at time of injury being 37.6 (SE = 17.02) years. The majority of OFFxs were secondary to assault (65%). The average follow-up was 2.84 (SE = 5.38) months. The 34 patients who did not undergo surgical correction had statistically significant improvement of their VA by 1 week after injury (P = 0.02). There was no statistically significant improvement in VA outcomes for surgical patients of ophthalmology (P = 0.45) or oral maxillofacial surgery (P = 0.12).

CONCLUSIONS

Patients undergoing OFFx repair did not have improved VA. The VA of nonsurgical patients was statistically significantly improved by 1 week after injury (P = 0.02).