Surgical outcomes of orbital trapdoor fracture in children and adolescents

Abstract Purpose Orbital trapdoor fractures are uncommon but more frequent in children and adolescents. Orbital trapdoor fractures have been discussed in many previous reports, early treatment has been advocated but there is controversy over treatment policy and surgical outcomes. Our retrospective study analyzed the surgical outcomes of orbital trapdoor fracture in children and adolescents to investigate the appropriate timing of treatment and the relationship between severity of extraocular muscle movement (EOM) limitation before the operation and the period of recovery after operation. Methods A total of 44 children and adolescents with orbital wall fractures were operated on from 2009 to 2013. This study included 25 patients who underwent surgery for orbital trapdoor fractures; age range 9–18 years (mean age 14.0). We investigated the interval from trauma to surgery, the period of full EOM recovery after operation and the correlation between these factors, retrospectively. Results The mean follow-up duration was 90.2 days. At follow-up, nine out of ten patients who underwent surgery within 24 h (Group 1) had full EOM recovery, with a mean recovery time of 25.1 days; five out of six patients who underwent surgery within 24–72 h (Group 2) had full EOM recovery with a mean recovery time of 60.2 days; and seven out of nine patients who underwent surgery after 72 h (Group 3) had full EOM recovery with a mean recovery time of 67.6 days. There was no statistical difference in the operation success rates between the groups. Also, the four patients that not completely recovered EOM had a mild EOM limitation below grade −1. Conclusion In our study, we found that patients with orbital trapdoor fractures can recover full EOM regardless of the interval from trauma to surgery. Therefore, we suggest that appropriate surgical technique is important in the treatment of patients with orbital trapdoor fractures, in addition to the urgent surgery recommended for these fractures in a pediatric population. Furthermore, we expect a good prognosis following the treatment of orbital trapdoor fractures if appropriate surgical techniques are used, even if a relatively long time has passed after the trauma.