[Thyroid orbitopathy]

Thyroid Orbitopathy (T.O) is the most common orbital disease caused by a systemic illness. The clinical manifestations of T.O are a result of inflammation, edema and scarring of orbital tissue, and include exophthalmos, soft tissue edema, lid retraction, chemosis, exposure keratitis that can lead to corneal ulceration and perforation, ocular motility disorders and strabismus, and compressive optic neuropathy. T.O is an autoimmune disease but the exact etiology is yet to be revealed. Most cases resolve spontaneously without the need for medical or surgical intervention, but more severe cases may result in devastating visual and cosmetic results. In recent years, there has been a significant progress in the understanding of the disease and the medical and surgical treatment of T.O. This work reviews new aspects of T.O and it's surgical treatment, and include clinical photographs of patients operated on in our department.