[Orbital surgery. Perioperative problems and results].

BACKGROUND

Orbitotomies have special place in ophthalmic surgery because of the anatomical structures involved and the variety of perioperative problems. We performed a retrospective analysis of orbitotomies carried out in our department in order to give us some more detailed information about the frequency and extent of the various intra- and postoperative problems of orbital surgery.

PATIENTS: We evaluated 48 orbitotomies of 46 patients operated on between August 1995 and February 1998.

RESULTS

Severe intraoperative complications rarely occurred. Two patients had severe hemorrhages and needed transfusion, and once there was a CSF leakage. Interdisciplinary treatment was performed in these cases. Postoperatively, we saw transitory dysfunction such as reduction of visual acuity (35%), restriction of ocular motility with or without diplopia (20%) and eyelid malposition. These dysfunctions are primarily caused by postoperative edema and hematoma. On the other hand, permanent dysfunctions were rare.

CONCLUSIONS

Our analysis shows that the main perioperative problems of orbitotomies are transient dysfunctions that generally resolve quickly. Severe complications are rare. They generally occur intraoperatively and sometimes require interdisciplinary management.