ORBITAL
Orbital diseases
This consists a wide spectrum of conditions involving or arising from within the eye socket.
- Thyroid eye disease
- Orbital cellulitis/abscess
- Orbital inflammatory disease
- Orbital tumours
What are the symptoms?
They could present with:
- swelling
- abnormal sensation such as eye pain or numbness around the eye
- redness (of the eyelid or ‘eye white’)
- a bulging appearance of the eyeball
- double vision
- vision loss
Mild cases may present with development of slight asymmetry between the 2 eyes.
What are the tests that are usually performed?
A computerised tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the orbits may be indicated in different circumstances.
What is the treatment?
Treatment depends on the diagnosis of the orbital condition. In the case of a thyroid eye disease, treatment in the initial phase is usually with medication; surgical treatment may be required much later on. Whereas urgent conditions including orbital cellulitis or abscess will require emergency treatment.