Periorbital tuberculosis in a young man: a case report

Tuberculosis is an endemic disease in developing countries which may involve various organs. Soft tissue involvement including periorbital tissues is very rare, and often this involvement is accompanied by the involvement of other body organs such as lungs. Most of the patients suffering from periorbital infections have underlying diseases and diagnosis of these infections without concomitant involvement of other parts of body is often complex.

In this paper, a periorbital tuberculous infection is described. A 17-year-old male with chronic periorbital mass underwent surgical and medical treatment and the mass recurred. Culture and microscopic studies of the specimen showed mycobacterium tuberculosis. The patient was treated for a periorbital tuberculous infection for a 6-month period with antituberculous regimen and was cured.

Periorbital tuberculous infection may occur in the absence of underlying factors or active tuberculosis in the rest of the body organs or a history of tuberculosis infection.