[Nuclear magnetic resonance tomography study in orbital diseases with surface coils]

MRI of the orbit with surface coils was performed in 40 patients. In 35 cases the findings were pathologic. The most frequent (n = 9) were malignant melanomas of the choroid, which were distinguishable from hemorrhages (n = 2) by the characteristic signal intensity pattern. MRI only offered advantages over CT in lesions of the orbital apex, the upper part of the orbit, and in the diagnosis of inflammatory processes. In most of the cases of orbital tumors, and particularly where there was involvement of bony structures, CT was equal to or better than MRI.