Postsurgical Complications in Orbital Decompression for Thyroid Eye Disease

Objective: Thyroid eye disease is an autoimmune multisystem disorder that can lead to partial or total loss of vision. The aim of the study was to evaluate the safety of orbital surgery and assess the scale of complications in patients with thyroid eye disease who underwent orbital decompression. Moreover, the rate of the status of pre- and postoperative diplopia was done. Methods: This was a retrospective study designed to review and analyze clinical data, different types of complications (e.g., sinonasal, orbital, cerebral, and general), and status of diplopia in patients with thyroid eye disease who underwent orbital decompression in the Otorhinolaryngology Department between 2011 and 2018. Results: Fifty-one patients with thyroid eye disease (34 females and 17 males, average age 56.37 years) underwent surgical decompression. The overall rate of complications was 15.47%. The most common complications were sinonasal complications (53.85% of all complications). The orbital complications were less common (46.15% of all complications). We did not observe general or cerebral complications. New onset of diplopia was reported in 10% patients, while it did not change in 64% of them. Already existing diplopia worsened in 8% patients. Sixteen percent of patients reported decrease to lower stage or complete withdrawal of already existing diplopia. Conclusion: For patients with thyroid eye disease, surgical decompression seems to be a safe procedure with a low rate of marked complications. That type of management is associated with relatively low rate of new onset or worsening of already existing diplopia. Cite this article as: Brożek-Mądry E, Jurek-Matusiak O, Krzeski A. Postsurgical complications in orbital decompression for thyroid eye disease. B-ENT 2022;18(3):139-146.