title: Endoscopic optic nerve decompression for traumatic optic neuropathy in children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To discuss the necessity of nasal endoscopic surgery for pediatric traumatic optic neuropathy and its therapeutic effect.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively reviewed the cases of 41 children (involving 43 eyes) with traumatic optic neuropathies who were treated in our department by endoscopic optic nerve decompression and postoperative corticosteroid in large doses from Feb. 2000 to Apr. 2010. A 6-month follow-up study was performed for each patient in order to observe the postoperative eyesight recovery and analyze the therapeutic effect.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The eyesight of 11 patients out of 41 patients reached 0.2-0.3 postoperatively, the eyesight of 16 patients recovered from counting fingers to 0.1 after the surgery, the eyesight of 6 patients ranged from light sensation to seeing the hand movement, the eyesight of 7 children did not recover from the operation. The prognosis in the children who underwent the decompression 7 days post-traumatically was much worse than other children.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The age of the patients was not the main element influencing the decision-making process for the operation. The main elements affecting the prognosis were the degree of injury and the time interval between the trauma and the time when patients underwent the surgery. The operation opportunity and plan are very important to a successful operation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha 410011, China.
authors.forename: Anquan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Youzhong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002681:China; D015331:Cohort Studies; D019299:Decompression, Surgical / Q000379:methods*; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D009900:Optic Nerve / Q000601:surgery*; D020221:Optic Nerve Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D011182:Postoperative Care / Q000379:methods; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014792:Visual Acuity
chemical_list: D003907:Dexamethasone