Diplopia and orbital wall fractures

Abstract

Diplopia is a symptom that is frequently associated with orbital wall fractures. The aim of this article was to present the incidence and patterns of diplopia after orbital wall blow-out fractures in 2 European centers, Turin and Amsterdam, and to identify any correlation between this symptom and such fractures. This study is based on 2 databases that have continuously recorded data of patients hospitalized with maxillofacial fractures between 2001 and 2010. On the whole, 447 patients (334 males, 113 females) with pure blow-out orbital wall fractures were included. The most frequently involved orbital site was the floor (359 fractures), followed by medial wall (41 fractures) and lateral wall (5 fractures). At presentation, 227 patients (50.7%) had evidence of diplopia. In particular, in most patients, a diplopia in all directions was referred (78 patients). Statistically significant associations were found between diplopia on eye elevation and orbital floor fractures (P < 0.05) and between horizontal diplopia and medial wall fractures (P < 0.000005). In patients under evaluation for orbital trauma, the observation of diplopia on eye elevation and horizontal diplopia at presentation could be useful clinical indicators orbital floor and medial wall fractures, respectively.