MR Imaging of Orbital Inflammatory Pseudotumors with Extraorbital Extension

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate a variety of MR imaging findings of orbital inflammatory pseudotumors with extraorbital extension. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the MR features of five patients, who were diagnosed clinically and radiologically as having an orbital inflammatory pseudotumor with extraorbital extension. RESULTS: The types of orbital pseudotumors were a mass in the orbital apex (n = 3), diffuse form (n = 2), and myositis (n = 1). The extraorbital extension of the orbital pseudotumor passed through the superior orbital fissure in all cases, through the inferior orbital fissure in two cases, and through the optic canal in one case. The orbital lesions extended into the following areas: the cavernous sinus (n = 4), the middle cranial fossa (n = 4), Meckel's cave (n = 2), the petrous apex (n = 2), the clivus (n = 2), the pterygopalatine fossa and infratemporal fossa (n = 2), the foramen rotundum (n = 1), the paranasal sinus (n = 1), and the infraorbital foramen (n = 1). On MR imaging, the lesions appeared as an isosignal intensity with gray matter on the T1-weighted images, as a low signal intensity on the T2-weighted images and showed a marked enhancement on the post-gadolinium-diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (post-Gd-DTPA) T1-sequences. The symptoms of all of the patients improved when they were given high doses of steroids. Three of the five patients experienced a recurrence. CONCLUSION: MR imaging is useful for demonstrating the presence of a variety of extraorbital extensions of orbital inflammatory pseudotumors.

Comparison of Orbital Pseudotumor and Lymphoma: Clinical and Radiological Findings

PURPOSE: To compare the clinical and radiological findings of orbital pseudotumor with those of orbital lymphoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The clinical and radiological features of 12 orbital pseudotumors were compared with those of 17 orbital lymphomas, the nature of all lesions being confirmed by tissue biopsy. Twenty-four CT scans and nine MR images were retrospectively reviewed and compared, with special focus on the location of a tumor in the orbit, the invasion of periorbital structures, tumor margin, bilaterality, and signal intensity. The initial symptoms at admission were also classified and compared. RESULTS: In 50% of cases, orbital pseudotumors were located in both extraconal and intraconal space; 75% involved two or more extraocular muscles, and 33% involved the optic nerve. Margins were either infiltrative (75%) or ill-defined (92%). As for orbital lymphomas, 64% occupied extraconal space, invading one or less extraocular muscle (76%) and conjunctiva (29%). Seventy-one percent had a sharp margin, and 65% were lobulated or round. In pseudotumors, orbital pain and visual loss were major symptoms, while in lymphomas a painless orbital mass was the initial symptom. CONCLUSION: CT or MR image analysis of lesion location, margin, and the involvement of adjacent extra-ocular muscle or optic nerves may help differentiate between orbital lymphoma and orbital pseudo tumor.

MR Imaging Findings of Orbitofacial Infarction Secondary to Rhinoorbital Mucormycosis: A Case Report

Rhino-orbital mucormycosis is the most frequently fatal fungal infection commonly occurring in patients with poorly controlled diabetes mellitus and and those who are immunocompromised, and requires prompt treatment. We describe a case of rhino-or-bital mucormycosis with orbital cellulitis and paranasal sinusitis, as seen on initial MR images, which on follow-up images had evol ved to orbitofacial infarction. MR imaging was useful for the demonstration of orbitofacial infarction, seen as areas of lack of enhancement and thus suggesting vascular invo l vement by mucor hyphae.