Clinical picture and management of subperiosteal hematoma of the orbit.

A subperiosteal hematoma was seen in a 14-year-old boy following a blow to his head during a car accident. The involved orbit exhibited exophthalmus and inability of the eye to move above the horizontal. X-rays revealed a hairline fracture of the skull and a hemotympanum was found on the injured side. A subperiosteal hematoma of the orbital roof was suspected. Needle aspiration of the blood from the orbital hematoma resulted in an almost immediate cure of all orbital and occular problems.