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Tomasetti P, Jacbosen C, Gander T, et al. Emergency decompression of tension retrobulbar emphysema secondary to orbital floor fracture. J Surg Case Rep. 2013;2013(3)doi: 10.1093/jscr/rjt011.
Tomasetti, P., Jacbosen, C., Gander, T., & Zemann, W. (2013). Emergency decompression of tension retrobulbar emphysema secondary to orbital floor fracture. Journal of surgical case reports, 2013(3), . https://doi.org/10.1093/jscr/rjt011
Tomasetti, Patrick, et al. "Emergency decompression of tension retrobulbar emphysema secondary to orbital floor fracture." Journal of surgical case reports vol. 2013,3 (2013). doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/jscr/rjt011
Tomasetti P, Jacbosen C, Gander T, Zemann W. Emergency decompression of tension retrobulbar emphysema secondary to orbital floor fracture. J Surg Case Rep. 2013 Mar 21;2013(3). doi: 10.1093/jscr/rjt011. PMID: 24964422; PMCID: PMC3635220.
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J Surg Case Rep. 2013 Mar 21;2013(3). doi: 10.1093/jscr/rjt011.

Emergency decompression of tension retrobulbar emphysema secondary to orbital floor fracture.

Journal of surgical case reports

Patrick Tomasetti, Christine Jacbosen, Thomas Gander, Wolfgang Zemann

Affiliations

  1. Department of Cranio-Maxillofacial and Oral Surgery, University Hospital Zürich,Zürich, Switzerland [email protected].
  2. Department of Cranio-Maxillofacial and Oral Surgery, University Hospital Zürich,Zürich, Switzerland.

PMID: 24964422 PMCID: PMC3635220 DOI: 10.1093/jscr/rjt011

Abstract

Orbital floor fractures are generally the result of blowout orbital and may be associated with orbital emphysema leading to proptosis and even to loss of vision. A 49-year-old woman fractured the orbital floor in a fall. After blowing her nose, she developed exophthalmos and severe reduction in vision. She consulted our department and underwent emergency surgical management with orbital drainage. Decompression led to immediate resolution of the exophthalmos and postoperative improvement in visual acuity. Urgent decompression is indicated by the presence of proptosis, elevated intraocular pressure, and progressive loss of vision in cases of orbital trauma with additional emphysema. Surgical treatment of tension emphysema includes lateral canthotomy or cantholysis, needle aspiration, transconjunctival, or lateral blepharoplasty approach, and bone decompression depending on the severity of the case. Sneezing or blowing the nose can lead to proptosis and decreased visual acuity secondary to trauma to the orbit. Under such circumstances, emergency decompression is essential.

Published by Oxford University Press and JSCR Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved. © The Author 2013.

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