The Effects of Intraoperative Tarsorrhaphy on Conjunctival Chemosis During Orbital Fracture Repair Surgery.

PURPOSE: We employed intraoperative tarsorrhaphy depending on the degree of edema to treat moderate conjunctival chemosis during orbital fracture repair surgery.

METHODS

This is a retrospective case review of 1367 patients (1384 eyes) who underwent orbital fracture repair surgery by a transconjunctival approach. All cases of moderate conjunctival chemosis during surgery were included and were divided into 2 groups. In one group, intraoperative tarsorrhaphy was performed immediately the chemosis reached a moderate degree and the conjunctiva was incarcerated by the lower eyelid margin; once severe chemosis developed, stitches were added to cover all of the prolapsed conjunctiva with a palpebral margin. In the second group, moderate chemosis was treated with bandage pressure without stitches even after appearance of severe chemosis. The time course of conjunctival edema was recorded.

RESULTS

The incidence of moderate conjunctival chemosis in orbital reconstruction surgery by the transconjunctival approach was 9.4%. The average time for resolution of moderate chemosis in the tarsorrhaphy group (3.5 ± 1.4 days) was obviously shorter than in the bandage group (6.2 ± 1.9 days). The incidence of severe chemosis in the intraoperative tarsorrhaphy group (14.1%) was significantly lower than in the bandage group (31.8%). Overall, the total duration of severe chemosis in the tarsorrhaphy group was obviously shorter than that of the bandage group.

CONCLUSION

Intraoperative tarsorrhaphy was a highly effective method of treating moderate chemosis and preventing severe conjunctival chemosis during orbital fracture repair surgery.