Aydin A, Velioglu M, Ersanli D
Service d'ophtalmologie, hôpital d'éducation de Haydarpasa, académie militaire de médecine de Gulhane, Uskudar, Istanbul, Turquie.
J Fr Ophtalmol. 2010 May;33(5):344.e1-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jfo.2010.03.012. Epub 2010 May 7.
We report a 23-year-old patient, presenting with enophthalmos in the left eye. The ophthalmologic examination was normal, except a 3-mm enophthalmos measured using the Hertel's exophthalmometer and an intermittent proptosis observed through the Valsalva maneuver. Orbital imaging tests disclosed a retroocular vascular lesion. A carotis arteriography was performed, and it revealed a tumor with vascular elements presumed to be orbital varix. Ultrasound Doppler examination showed a nonechogenic lesion with an increasing volume during Valsalva. Based on these findings, the tumor was diagnosed as orbital varix. We decided to manage the patient conservatively, in the absence of complications such as proptosis with corneal exposure, optic nerve compression, or esthetically unacceptable appearance. Orbital varix is a vascular anomaly, accounting for 2 % of orbital tumors. It generally presents with an intermittent exophthalmos or orbital hemorrhages. The development of enophthalmos associated with varices, such as reported in our case, is rare.
