Primary Tumors of the Orbital Bone

Primary tumors of orbital bone are very rare, often appearing only as case reports in the literature. The purpose of this study was to describe some cases of bony tumors originating from the orbit along with their clinical manifestations and surgical outcomes.

A retrospective clinical, operative, and pathological review was performed on patients with primary orbital bone tumors, who were treated at the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, of Sun Yat-sen University, China between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2012.

Among the 5 patients (3 men and 2 women) identified with primary orbital bone tumors, 4 cases were orbital osteoma and 1 case was a giant cell tumor (osteoclastoma). The right orbit was involved in 2 patients and the left in 3 patients. Their mean age was 27 years (range = 4-58 years). Mean follow-up was 4.4 years (range = 3-6 years). All patients underwent an anterior orbitotomy through a skin incision approach. Total resection was achieved in 2 patients and near-total resection in 3 patients. No surgical complications or recurrences occurred after a relatively long-term follow-up period. Reconstruction techniques to repair orbital wall defects were not required because of the minute size of the defects and patient's request.

Primary benign orbital bone tumors are quite rare. Based upon the findings of our review, both orbital osteoma and osteoclastoma can be successfully managed by anterior orbitotomy without any need for orbital wall reconstruction. The final prognosis for these cases was very favorable.