Testicular seminoma metastatic to the orbit

Painful exophthalmos, ophthalmoplegia, and visual loss in the right eye developed in a 28-year-old man four months after he underwent a radical orchiectomy and irradiation for a seminoma of the right testicle. Prednisone therapy failed to relieve the symptoms, and an orbital biopsy found a metastatic testicular seminoma. Orbital irradiation with radioactive cobalt reduced the exophthalmos, reversed the ophthalmoplegia, and improved his visual acuity. Previous cases of nonmetastatic exophthalmos in patients who had testicular seminoma have been reported, but, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a patient who had orbital seminoma metastatic from the testis. Successful irradiation of the orbital focus can minimize ocular morbidity and may improve the prognosis.