Orbital complications of sickle cell disease

Swelling and pain of the peri-orbital tissues in patients with sickle cell disease has been described. This has most often been ascribed to orbital apex syndrome, but there are recent reports in the literature of frontal bone infarctions compounding this syndrome. We will present a case report of a child with sickle cell disease with bilateral orbital abscesses and frontal bone infarctions. The literature pertaining to the diagnosis and treatment of the orbital complications of sickle cell disease is reviewed. We stress that intravenous antibiotics are not adequate therapy for orbital abscesses and that these must be drained surgically.