Orbital Exenteration in Recurrence Cancer: 5 Years Experience

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Ophthalmology
• Surgical Oncology

Background:

• Orbital exenteration is a surgical procedure for advanced periorbital, conjunctival, and intraorbital carcinomas.
• Assessing survival outcomes and reconstructive techniques is vital for patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) after orbital exenteration for various orbital carcinomas.
• To assess the efficacy of anterior retrograde temporalis muscle flap reconstruction.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of medical records, histology, and imaging for 19 patients undergoing orbital exenteration.
• Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank tests were used to assess survival distributions and relationships between factors.
• Cramer's V was employed to determine the strength of association between qualitative variables.

Main Results:

• Lymph node metastases showed a significant association with distant metastases (Cramer's V = 64%, p=0.0034).
• Lymph node involvement significantly impacted overall survival (p=0.04).
• No cases of facial nerve palsy or CSF leak were reported post-reconstruction.

Conclusions:

• Identifying lymph node involvement is critical in managing orbital neoplasms.
• Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) can aid in staging and assessing cancer spread, particularly in previously treated patients.
• Anterior retrograde temporalis muscle flap and transorbital procedures are effective for reconstruction, minimizing scarring.