[Results of surgical therapy of orbital abnormalities]

Dystopies of the bony orbit are caused mainly by craniosynostosis, facial clefts and encephaloceles. This article presents the results of the surgical correction of orbital hypertelorism in 24 patients. Using this operation technique, the bony interorbital distance was decreased from an average of 47.6 mm to 22.8 mm. However, the distance between the soft tissues was not reduced by the same amount as the distance between the bony orbits. The intercanthal distance decreased from an average of 58.5 mm to 44.5 mm, whereby an additional refixation of the medial palpebral ligament resulted in a reduction of the intercanthal distance to 40.8 mm. A strabismus divergens was seen preoperatively in 18 patients, postoperatively only in 8 patients. Four of the latter had to undergo operative correction of the diplopia. We conclude that the operative technique is not reserved only for complex cases of hypertelorism because it shows satisfactory functional and aesthetic results with a low complication rate.