Nine-year-old girl with a respiratory epithelial cyst of the orbit.
OBJECTIVE
Here we describe the clinical and histopathological characteristics of a nine-year-old girl with an intraorbital mass of the left orbit, and review the relevant literature.


RESULTS
Imaging data and surgical biopsy revealed an intraconal cystic lesion in the medial-inferior quadrant of the left orbit. The cyst was lined with ciliated pseudostratified epithelium, consistent with a respiratory epithelial cyst of the orbit. Cyst marsupialisation and partial mass removal alleviated symptoms, and no cyst recurrence was observed during follow-up. The literature suggests that this is an uncommon cause of a cystic orbital mass.


CONCLUSIONS
Respiratory epithelial cysts of the orbit should be considered in the differential diagnosis of intraorbital masses. Surgical excision of such a lesion should be limited to avoid damaging orbital structures. Respiratory epithelial cysts of the orbit generally follow a benign course, and recurrence of ocular symptoms is rare.
N
N
Weegerink
J
J
Van Goethem
S
S
De Schepper
T
T
Van de Velde
B
B
Schmelzer
D001706:Biopsy; D002648:Child; D002828:Choristoma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003560:Cysts / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009916:Orbital Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D020545:Respiratory Mucosa; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed