A Case of Exophthalmos due to Traumatic Orbital Encephalocele

ABSTRACT

Exophthalmos after trauma may develop because of retrobulbar hemorrhage, carotid cavernous fistula and orbital roof fracture. The orbital roof is composed of two layers of strong bone that makes it the strongest among the orbital walls and reports of its case are hardly found. However, rarely strong impact such as in automobile accidents causes these fractures and exophthalmos may develop due to herniation of brain tissue through a traumatic defect in the roof of the orbit. The authors experienced gradually increasing exophthalmos in a 33-year old man who had developed a subdural hematoma, orbital roof fracture and anterior temporal skull fracture due to an automobile accident. We report a case of orbital roof fracture in which herniation of brain was shown in orbital computed tomography and exophthalmos disappeared after dural suture.