Surgical treatment modalities of thyroid ophthalmopathy

Abstract

This report presents the use of various surgical treatment modalities in patients who were diagnosed as having thyroid ophthalmopathy. The records of 53 patients who received surgery because of thyroid ophthalmopathy at the Department of Ophthalmology, Yonsei University College of Medicine between Sept. 1996 and Jan. 2000 were retrospectively evaluated. Among the 53 patients, there were 30 females and 23 males. The mean ages of the patients were 40.8 +/- 17.1 years. Orbital wall decompression (52.8%) was the most frequently performed surgery followed by lid surgery (49.1%) and strabismus surgery (26.4%). Only one type of surgery was performed on 86.8% of the patients while 13.2% received more than one type of surgery. Among the many different types of surgeries possible in patients that have thyroid ophthalmopathy, orbital wall decompression, lid surgery, and strabismus surgery are the most commonly used surgical methods for treatment.