Clinico-Pathological Patterns of Patients Who Underwent Orbital Exenteration in a Tertiary Eye Hospital of Nepal

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Orbital exenteration is a destructive procedure performed by removing all or part ofthe orbital contents along with entire eyeball. It is a procedure reserved for life threatening malignanciesand some nonmalignant disorders which are not controlled by conservative management.METHODS: This is a retrospective study done on patients who underwent orbital exenteration atTilganga Institute of Ophthalmology from1 January 2006- 30 in December 2014.RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 30 years (range 1-78), with male preponderance of 15(55.6%.Overall presenting duration of eye morbidity was 18 months (2 months-8.5 years). The most commonpresenting complaint was protrusion of eyeball1, 4(50%), primary site of tumor being intraocular in 10patients (35.7%,) and total orbital exenteration was the most commonly performed type of surgery in16(57.1%) out of 27 patients. The most common etiology responsible for orbital exenteration, in pediatricage group of 9/27 patients (64.2%), was retinoblastoma whereas conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma(SCC)accounts for 5 patients (38.4%) in adults. Overall, the most common cause of orbital exenterationwas retinoblastoma 9(32.1%).CONCLUSION: The most common etiologies requiring orbital exenteration were retinoblastoma (inchildren and overall) and conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma (in adults), both diseases that could beaddressed with less invasive treatment modality if detected earlier in the disease process. Designingstrategy is important for early detection and treatment of these conditions, which would decrease diseasemorbidity and prognosis, potentially sparing sight and life.