Transnasal endoscopic orbital decompression in severe thyroid orbitopathy

Abstract

Thyroid orbitopathy is an autoimmune disease in which an inflammatory reaction generates increased orbital pressure with protrusion of its contents. It is often self- limiting and its most frequent symptoms are eyelid retraction, exophthalmos and di- plopia. There are severe cases with compromised visual acuity due to compression of the optic nerve. The diagnosis is clinical, but must be complemented with a computed tomography scan. Its treatment depends on the severity and activity of the disease and the surgicals procedures such as orbital decompression is the best choice in exophthal- mos and compressive optic neuropathy. The treatment in severe thyroid orbitopathy is decompressive surgery. Multiple techniques have been described, but with limitations. The transnasal endoscopic decompression is currently considered the gold standard, since it allows a good visualization of the medial wall with comparable results and less complications, compared to traditional methods. We present a case of severe thyroid ophthalmopathy, with exophthalmos, diplopia and decreased visual acuity, in which a transnasal endoscopic decompression was performed with very good outcomes.