Endoscopic Orbital Decompression: When and How?

Objective: 1) Identify acute and chronic indications for orbital and/or optic nerve decompression. 2) Review known techniques for endoscopic orbital decompression. 3) Evaluate the necessity to include inferior orbital wall/orbital floor. 4) Compare and contrast the endoscopic technique in comparison to various open methods.Method: Retrospective review of all patients that underwent endoscopic orbital decompression procedures between 2009 and 2011. Data analysis included review of perioperative clinical findings, operative technical details, radiology data, and outcomes.Results: A total of 15 orbital decompressions were performed. All patients underwent endoscopic medial orbital wall decompression, 2 included the orbital floor. The majority of the patients had allergic fungal sinusitis as their primary diagnosis for surgical indication (n = 7, 47%). Neoplasms (n = 5, 33%) and Graves disease (n = 3, 20%) were the remaining diagnoses. Restricted ocular motility, proptosis, and diplopia were the most common p...