Pseudo-entrapment of extraocular muscles in patients with orbital fractures

Diplopia is a prominent finding in patients who have suffered orbital fractures. If the patient's double vision or ocular motility restriction was caused by soft tissue entrapment into the fracture site, surgery is frequently performed in order to release this entrapment and restore normal eye movement. However, the presence of diplopia should not necessarily be an indication for surgery. Brief case reports are hereby presented to illustrate that the symptoms of diplopia and motility restriction are not always attributable to the presence of orbital fractures that require surgical repair. The purpose of this article is to describe other causes of abnormal ocular motility that are associated with orbital trauma but which are not caused by soft tissue entrapment.