Fractures of the orbital floor

The charts of 324 patients treated for 363 orbital floor fractures between 1965 and 1973 were reviewed retrospectively. Of these, 38 (11 percent) were isolated floor fractures, 27 (8 percent) were rim and floor fractures, 168 (46 percent) were trimalar fractures and 130 (35 percent) were associated with complex facial fractures. On initial examination, 31 percent of the patients were found to have diplopia and 4 percent enophthalmos. Orbital prolapse was suspected in 31 percent of the patients. Thirty-seven percent of the patients had demonstrable ocular injury at the time of initial examination. Treatment was surgical in 336 of the fractures and non-surgical in 29. Of the surgical patients 140 had no support placed, 120 had antral support only, 51 had both antral support and orbital implant, and 20 had an orbital implant only. Postoperatively the incidence of diplopia was 8 percent in all patients, and 7 percent had enophthalmos. A smaller group followed for more than five months, were found to have diplopia in 17 percent and enophthalmos in 11 percent. Of the 29 patients treated non-surgically, none had persistent diplopia.