Nontraumatic subperiosteal bilateral orbital hemorrhages after mitral valve repair.

Nontraumatic subperiosteal orbital hemorrhages (NTSOHs) are rare events, but pose a grave risk of vision loss and must be evaluated carefully for optic nerve compromise. To the author's knowledge, only 2 cases of NTSOH after cardiovascular procedures have been reported. The authors report a unique case of bilateral NTSOH with optic neuropathy that developed after cardiothoracic surgery and reaccumulated after orbitotomy. The case presentation conforms to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki and is Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliant. The etiology and management of this uncommon and dangerous entity will be discussed.

Orbital vicarious menstruation.

A 31-year-old African-American woman with a medical history of well-controlled hypertension sought treatment for recurrent, monthly, unilateral orbital and subconjunctival hemorrhage for 1 year. The episodes were cyclical and coincided with the timing of her menstrual cycle. Examination findings included right periorbital fullness and subconjunctival hemorrhage. Extensive serologic and radiographic workup ruled out other potential causes of recurrent orbital hemorrhage. The patient was diagnosed with orbital vicarious menstruation and treated with oral contraceptive pills, with marked clinical improvement.

Spontaneous subperiosteal hematoma precipitated by anxiety attack.

A 60-year-old woman presented with diplopia and left periorbital edema and pressure, which developed during an anxiety attack the previous day. Examination revealed left inferotemporal globe dystopia, periorbital edema, ecchymosis, and limitation in supraduction. Orbital MRI confirmed the diagnosis of a superior subperiosteal orbital hematoma. The patient's signs and symptoms rapidly resolved with administration of oral corticosteroids. The patient remains asymptomatic with complete resolution of orbital signs at 3-month follow-up. Subperiosteal orbital hematoma (SOH) is a rare condition in which blood accumulates between the bony orbit and separated periosteum, and is often due to blunt head trauma. Non-traumatic SOH (NTSOH) is exceedingly rare and usually associated with known coagulopathies or tendency to bleed. However, few cases of spontaneous NTSOH have been reported without any such predisposition and are thought to be caused by sudden elevations in intrathoracic and intracranial venous pressure such as vomiting, coughing, SCUBA diving, weight lifting and labor. We herein describe the presentation, radiography and outcome of a unique case of spontaneous NTSOH following an anxiety attack.

Orbital compression syndrome in sickle cell disease.

PURPOSE: To present 3 cases of orbital compression syndrome caused by infarction of the greater wing of the sphenoid in patients with sickle cell disease. METHODS: Case report and review of the literature. RESULTS: Three patients with sickle cell disease (2 males aged 22 and 16 years, and a 10-year-old girl) who presented with proptosis, limited ocular motility, and chemosis were found to have an infarction of the marrow space of the greater wing of the sphenoid that produced an orbital subperiosteal hemorrhage and exudate demonstrated on MRI. Two patients suffered compressive optic neuropathy; both patients recovered normal optic nerve function. Orbital edema resolved within 48 hours of receiving 1 g methylprednosolone daily. The third patient had normal optic nerve function and his orbital edema improved with methylprednisolone 250 mg/day and intravenous Kefzol over 3 days. In the literature, there are 27 similar cases; 5 were treated surgically and the remainder were managed medically. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with sickle cell disease are at risk for orbital compression syndrome secondary to orbital bone infarction, in the setting of vaso-occlusive crises. This diagnosis should be considered when a patient with sickle cell disease presents with headache, proptosis, decreased motility, and/or optic nerve compromise.

Mucormycoses: serious complication of high-dose corticosteroid therapy for traumatic optic neuropathy.

Mucormycosis is harmless to a healthy person, but can cause opportunistic infections in immunocompromised patients, and once it has invaded internal organs is frequently fatal. Traumatic optic neuropathy is a rare complication of maxillofacial trauma. Management is controversial, and there are no treatment guidelines in the literature. The main methods of treatment of this condition employed today are high-dose corticosteroids and surgical optic nerve decompression, either alone or in combination. In this case, the patient was in good health, but received high-dose corticosteroids for 2 weeks, which temporarily diminished immune response and permitted the development of mucormycosis.

Bilateral spontaneous idiopathic extraocular muscle haematoma.

The authors present a case of bilateral sequential extraocular muscle haematoma, for which no apparent cause has been identified despite extensive investigation, and which resolved without persisting morbidity. As far as the authors are aware, this is the first bilateral case to be reported.

Review of management options for a retrobulbar hemorrhage.

This is a review of the current literature describing the different reported methods of managing a retrobulbar hemorrhage. The pathophysiology of the condition, together with its differing clinical presentations are described in length. Both the surgical and medical management are discussed. The importance of prompt recognition and treatment of the condition is emphasized. The consequences of unnecessary treatment delay are reinforced.

Retrobulbar hemorrhage: a case report.

Retrobulbar hemorrhage is a rare complication that may occur after mid-face injuries or following soft and hard tissue surgery around the eyes. The cardinal signs and symptoms of retrobulbar hemorrhage are pain, diplopia, ophthalmoplegia, a progression of increasing proptosis, and decreasing visual acuity leading to blindness. The diagnosis can be confirmed with computed tomography (CT) of the orbit or with ocular ultrasound. These diagnostic images are also important to define the size of the hematoma. This report describes a traumatic retrobulbar hemorrhage. In this case there were no signs of acute visual loss, and conservative treatment was possible without surgical intervention.

Treatment of retrobulbar haemorrhage in accident and emergency departments.

Retrobulbar haemorrhage is a rare complication of orbital injury or surgery. After injury the first clinicians to see these patients are often the staff of accident and emergency departments. This survey was instigated after several patients had been referred to our care irreversibly blind. A multiple choice questionnaire was devised and sent to 90 doctors working in accident and emergency departments in Scotland. A total of 57 (63%) were returned of which 55 were complete enough to analyse. The range of respondents was: consultants (n = 6), associate specialists (n = 3), senior registrars (n = 3), registrars (n = 4), senior house officer (n = 35), and clinical assistants (n = 4). Twenty nine of the 35 senior house officers (83%) were unable to diagnose and treat retrobulbar haemorrhage. Most consultants, senior registrars, registrars and associate specialists were significantly better in the diagnosis and treatment of this condition (P = 0.001). We conclude that there is an unacceptably high incidence of blindness as a result of inappropriate diagnosis and treatment of retrobulbar haemorrhage. We have therefore designed a protocol for accident departments which should help reduce the incidence of blindness.