Vol.97 No.10 contentsPRACTICA OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICA
Vol. 97 No.10 October 2004
Traumatic Orbital Hematoma in which Blindness Recovered
after Surgical Treatment: A Case Report
Takehiro Iki, Kouzou Ohta, Tsunehisa Ohno,
Aiko Taniguchi and Nobuya Fujiki
(Otsu Red Cross Hospital)
Blindness is rarely reversed. We report a 78-year-old female with acute traumatic blindness, which was cured by surgical treatment. She suffered a blunt injury to her right eye caused by a wooden foreign body penetrating through the upper lid. Computed tomography showed an orbital hematoma compressing the optic nerve. The hematoma was surgically removed 6 hours after the accident. Postoperatively, the patient was treated with intravenous corticosteroids in a tapering regimen for 4 days and intravenous antibiotics for 4 days. The visual acuity of her right eye improved progressively from the first postoperative day. One and a half months later, the right visual acuity improved to 0.15, the same as that of the left.
Orbital hematoma is a rare complication resulting from blunt periorbital trauma, usually treated by conservative therapy only. If, however, the proptosis becomes dangerous or severe visual loss presents, surgical treatment should be selected.
Key words : traumatic orbital hematoma, blindness, surgical treatment