Surgical methods and approaches in the treatment of orbital disease

Many orbital disorders require surgical intervention to establish the diagnossis or to provide the basis for planning the appropriate surgical procedure in these selected cases. The indications for biopsy versus complete surgical excision of orbital lesions are outlined. The nature of the specific techniques, including fine-needle aspiration biopsy, endoscopic biopsy, anterior orbitotomy, lateral orbitotomy, and multidisciplinary combined approaches to the orbit is discussed. Separate sections, with an emphasis on clinical radiographic correlates, are devoted to the commonly encountered surgical disorders, thyroid orbital decompression and acquired anophthalmia (evisceration, enucleation, and exenteration).