[Orbital exenteration]

Exenteration of the orbit is a disfiguring and destructive procedure that is usually reserved for treatment of life-threatening orbital malignancy when a less radical operation such as local surgery, chemotherapy, or irradiation are deemed inadequate or have failed. Many methods have been published for managing the socket, but of primary importance is the need to remove all diseased tissue prior to considering any reconstructive efforts. Options include spontaneous granulation, skin grafting, or muscle flaps. This article will describe the development and the indications for this procedure and will outline the surgical techniques and its complications, the various reconstructive efforts, and survival. The success of orbital exenteration depends on recurrence, histological type, tumor size, and tumor-free margins.