title: Emergency management for orbital compartment syndrome-is decompression mandatory?
abstract: Current guidelines for the urgent management of patients with orbital compartment syndrome include immediate lateral canthotomy and cantholysis, followed by surgical decompression. Medical treatment is also advocated to 'buy time' while preparing the patient for theatre. This consists of high-dose steroids, mannitol, and acetazolamide diuretics to reduce swelling and orbital pressure. It is generally recognized that late or delayed intervention is associated with poor outcomes including blindness. With early presentation, given the potential risk to sight, there is generally a low threshold for treating suspected cases. However, whether or not to treat late cases is more controversial, partly because clinicians could face accusations of medical negligence if they do nothing. The case of a patient who sustained an orbital trauma to his only seeing eye, which resulted in acute proptosis and loss of vision, is presented here. He received no treatment at all for what appeared to be an orbital compartment syndrome secondary to retrobulbar haemorrhage, but surprisingly made a full recovery of vision within 48h. In contrast to the current literature in favour of urgent treatment, this case would appear to cast some doubt over the concept of 'always' treating orbital compartment syndrome and our understanding of the condition.
authors: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow, Middlesex, UK. Electronic address: aujam@nhs.net.
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Ujam
authors: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow, Middlesex, UK.
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Perry
mesh_terms: D000086:Acetazolamide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000368:Aged; D003161:Compartment Syndromes / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000601:surgery*; D019299:Decompression, Surgical; D004232:Diuretics / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004630:Emergencies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008353:Mannitol / Q000008:administration & dosage; D009915:Orbit / Q000293:injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D009916:Orbital Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000601:surgery*; D019315:Retrobulbar Hemorrhage; D013256:Steroids / Q000008:administration & dosage
chemical_list: D004232:Diuretics; D013256:Steroids; D008353:Mannitol; D000086:Acetazolamide
keywords: cantholysis; canthotomy; decompression; maxillofacial; orbital compartment syndrome; retrobulbar; trauma