Complete resolution of a large squamous cell carcinoma of the lacrimal duct in a young African American male after non-surgical management.

PURPOSE: The following case describes a 28-year old African American male who presented with squamous cell carcinoma of the lacrimal duct. Despite its size and location, his tumor showed complete resolution with non-surgical treatment. OBSERVATIONS: The patient presented with a 4-month history of dacryocystitis-like symptoms in the right eye, with no prior medical history and a history of tobacco smoking. Pathology indicated that SCC arose as nests within a benign sinonasal inverted papilloma. He received cisplatin chemotherapy and radiotherapy with tumor resolution in 4 months. Several months after the end of treatment, he experienced irreversible visual deterioration which led to enucleation of the right eye. The patient has remained in remission for 4 years following the treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The complete resolution of the mass with non-surgical management supports the most recent literature endorsing a multidisciplinary approach for localized tumors. Our patient is the only African American identified in the literature and the youngest reported patient to present with this tumor. Most case studies have not emphasized race, ethnicity and demographics, although it is known that morbidity in malignancy is impacted by these factors.

Visual Acuity in Orbital Floor Fractures: Does Surgical Subspecialty Management Matter?

PURPOSE: At the time of this writing, there is no consensus regarding orbital floor fracture (OFFx) management. Proper management of OFFxs is imperative to help prevent well known complications and the possibility of decreased visual acuity (VA). The VA outcomes have been largely underreported in the literature. The current study identifies the complications of the different subspecialty management including VA outcome. METHODS: A retrospective chart review study was performed to identify patients who suffered an OFFx and were managed by ophthalmology alone or in conjunction with either ENT or oral maxillofacial surgery at a single hospital. The primary outcome included VA at injury and subsequent visits. Secondary outcomes included epiphora, diplopia, enophthalmos, infraorbital dysesthesia, and decreased motility. Data were analyzed using Microsoft Office Excel 2007 using the Student t-test to find a P value < 0.05. RESULTS: There were 54 patients with OFFx. The majority were Black (83.3%) and men (77.8%) with their average age at time of injury being 37.6 (SE = 17.02) years. The majority of OFFxs were secondary to assault (65%). The average follow-up was 2.84 (SE = 5.38) months. The 34 patients who did not undergo surgical correction had statistically significant improvement of their VA by 1 week after injury (P = 0.02). There was no statistically significant improvement in VA outcomes for surgical patients of ophthalmology (P = 0.45) or oral maxillofacial surgery (P = 0.12). CONCLUSIONS: Patients undergoing OFFx repair did not have improved VA. The VA of nonsurgical patients was statistically significantly improved by 1 week after injury (P = 0.02).

Extranodal marginal zone B cell lymphoma of the orbit in a patient with sarcoidosis: a case report.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a case of extranodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma (EMZL) "mucosa associated lymphoid tissue (MALT)" of the orbit that presented with stage IV disease in a patient with sarcoidosis. DESIGN: Clinicopathologic case report. METHODS: Biopsies of the lesion were performed in the operating room and the samples were submitted for pathology processing. Pathology analysis identified the lesion as an extranodal marginal zone B-cell lymphoma "mucosa associated lymphoid tissue (MALT)" via flow cytometry, histopathology, cytogenetics, and immunohistochemical staining and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). The institutional review board of Howard University Hospital waived the need for IRB approval for this intraoperative finding. RESULTS: A 70-year-old Black woman with biopsy-proven sarcoidosis presented complaining of foreign body sensation, redness, swelling of her left upper eyelid and tearing. The patient was found to have an orbital lymphoproliferative malignancy. CONCLUSIONS: It is still unclear if the presence of immunosuppression or an autoimmune disease increases the risk of lymphoproliferative malignancies {6}. Malignancy should always be suspected and investigated.

Enucleation and evisceration: 20 years of experience.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the indications, relative frequencies, surgical times, and complications for enucleation and evisceration performed at a single academic center. METHODS: Medical records of all patients who underwent an enucleation or evisceration between January 1st, 1990 and December 31st, 2009 at a single academic center were reviewed. Patient demographics and surgical indications, times, and complications were recorded. RESULTS: A total of 85 eyes in 85 patients underwent enucleation (n = 31; 36%) or evisceration (n = 54; 64%) during the study period. Almost all patients were of African descent (96%). The most common underlying cause leading to eye removal was trauma. On average, eviscerations (47.3 ± 10.3 minutes) took significantly less time to perform than enucleations (89.6 ± 10.1 minutes; p < 0.01). Complications included implant exposure, infection, lower lid laxity, fornix insufficiency, and need for subsequent surgery; the occurrence of these complications was found to be similar between the two groups (p = 0.77). No case of sympathetic ophthalmia or inadvertent evisceration of an eye with an occult intraocular malignancy was noted. From the first decade for which data were available (1990- 1999) to the second decade (2000- 2009), the average number of enucleations decreased (p = 0.02) and the average number of eviscerations (p = 0.04) increased. CONCLUSION: Evisceration was found to be a safe and quicker alternative to enucleation in our study. A change in surgical preference from enucleation to evisceration was seen during the 20-year study period.

Rapidly fatal nasal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma: orbital and ocular adnexal presentations.

Nasal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (NKTL) is an aggressive malignancy that may initially present with orbital and/or ocular adnexal symptoms. We describe the case of a 27-year-old female with nasal NKTL, who initially presented with epiphora and died 4 months thereafter.