title: The Importance of Early Diagnosis of Retrobulbar Hemorrhage.
abstract: Midface fractures usually affect the orbital cavity. This trauma may result in severe and rare consequences such as retrobulbar hemorrhage. This condition requires immediate diagnosis and early intervention to avoid blindness. The treatment usually requires evaluation of an oral and maxillofacial surgeon. This patient report aims to describe a facial trauma resulting in blindness after 4 days. An 83-year-old woman fell and hit her face on the floor. The initial evaluation only found a contusion on her left orbit, and an ophthalmologic examination was not made. After 72 hours, the patient searched for the oral and maxillofacial surgeon, showing blindness of her left eye. Despite the treatment, the vision was not recovered. Blindness can become irreversible 90 minutes after trauma, and this condition must be treated as an emergency.
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnosis and Surgery, Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Dental School at Araraquara-Unesp, Araraquara, Brazil.
authors.forename: Guilherme Dos Santos
authors.initials: Gdos S
authors.lastname: Trento
authors.forename: Lucas Borin
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Moura
authors.forename: Luis Fernando
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: de Oliveira Gorla
authors.forename: Valfrido Antônio Pereira
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Filho
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001766:Blindness / Q000209:etiology*; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019315:Retrobulbar Hemorrhage / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis