ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Because domestic violence and sexual assault have a widespread societal and medical impact, this retrospective study was designed to determine the frequency of sexual assault and domestic violence as causes of orbital fractures in women. METHODS: The records of 54 consecutive patients with orbital fractures presenting to the Ophthalmic Plastic and Orbital Surgery service of Penn State University's Department of Ophthalmology were reviewed. The type of trauma resulting in each patient's orbital injury was identified. The frequency of orbital fractures resulting from sexual assault or domestic violence was determined. RESULTS: The study included 35 male and 19 female patients, ranging in age from 27 months to 63 years. Orbital fracture was the result of sexual assault or domestic violence in one third of the female patients, but no male patients. Motor vehicle accidents accounted for another 31.6 percent of orbital fractures in female patients. CONCLUSIONS: Based on this retrospective study, sexual assault and domestic violence are frequent causes of orbital fractures in women. Healthcare workers evaluating female patients with orbital fractures should have a high index of suspicion regarding sexual assault or domestic violence as a possible origin of the injury. A pointed but sensitive approach may be necessary to elicit this history from the patient.
