Vikas Agrawal, Manish Madan, Santosh Jajodia, Gayatri Kanung
BACKGROUND
Orbit is a pyramidal shaped anatomical space bound by orbital bones whose apex is continued posteriorly as the optic canal and rectangular base opens into the face. Though a series of canal, fissures and foramina communicate with extra orbital compartment, it is a closed compartment with broad opening anteriorly. Orbit contains the eye ball, extra ocular muscles, vascular elements, nerves, lacrimal gland and connective tissue. Proptosis is defined as an abnormal protrusion of the eyeball.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Total 32 patients referred from various departments mainly from ophthalmology and medicine with history and clinical features suggestive of proptosis were evaluated in our department and after proper history taking and clinical examination, Computed Tomography (CT) scan and histopathological diagnosis was done.
RESULTS
The age of the patients ranged from 1-55 years. Mass lesions (46.87%) were the most common cause of proptosis followed by inflammatory lesions (37.5%). Trauma, vascular lesions and congenital conditions were infrequent causes of proptosis. Unilateral proptosis was more frequent (84.37%) than bilateral proptosis (15.62%) and thyroid ophthalmopathy accounted for 60% of bilateral proptosis cases.
CONCLUSION
Mass lesions were the most common cause of proptosis followed by inflammatory lesions. CT scanning should be the chief investigation in evaluation of lesions causing proptosis. It is the most useful in detecting, characterising and determining the extent of disease process. The overall accuracy of CT scan in diagnosis of proptosis was 96.87%.
