Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 22, 2026
Author Spotlight: Minimally Invasive Relief for Occipital Neuralgia at the Nuchal Line
Published on: September 13, 2024
Long-term impact of endoscopic orbital decompression on sinonasal-specific quality of life
Sarina K Mueller1,2, Marcel M Miyake3,2, Daniel R Lefebvre4
1Department of Otolaryngology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany.
Objective:
Endoscopic orbital decompression (EOD) is the workhorse surgical intervention for severe thyroid eye disease in Graves disease. Although EOD is a safe and effective procedure, the objective of this study is to determine the impact of orbital decompression on long-term sinonasal-pecific quality of life.
Methods:
Retrospective study of 27 patients who underwent EOD by a single surgeon. The primary endpoint was change in preoperative 22-item Sinonasal Outcomes Test (SNOT-22) score at a minimum of 1 year. The secondary endpoint was to determine whether the performance of septoplasty for surgical access in patients without nasal obstruction impacted domain 1 (i.e., rhinologic domain) and total SNOT-22 scores.
Results:
The mean follow-up was 25.7 ± 11.4 months. Domain 1 scores significantly increased at the first postoperative visit (P ≤ 0.01) and returned to baseline values between 1 and 3 months. At 1 year, significant improvements in both total score and domain 4 and 5 (psychological and sleep dysfunction, respectively) scores were seen (P < 0.01 for all scores). Septoplasty was not associated with a significant change in SNOT-22 score at 1 year (P = 0.48).
Conclusion:
Endoscopic orbital decompression is associated at 1 year with a significant improvement in sinonasal-specific quality of life, which is driven by the psychological and sleep dysfunction domains. Adjunctive septoplasty has no significant impact on SNOT-22 scores.
Level Of Evidence:
4. Laryngoscope, 128:785-788, 2018.
