Radiographic Predictors of FACE-Q Outcomes Following Non-Operative Orbital Floor Fracture Management.

BACKGROUND

Orbital floor fractures are common injuries treated by multiple surgical subspecialties. Controversy exists regarding the operative indications. This study sought to correlate radiographic characteristics of orbital floor fractures with validated patient reported outcome measures following non-operative management.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Patients who underwent non-operative management of an orbital floor fracture at Yale New Haven Hospital from 2013 to 2018 were queried retrospectively. Patients with GCS < 15 and/or distracting facial soft tissue or bony injuries were excluded from analysis. CT images, demographic information, and FACE-Q patient reported outcomes (Satisfaction with Eyes, Psychological Function, Social Function, and Appearance Related Psychosocial Distress) were reviewed. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS with statistical significance set at P < .05.

RESULTS

Eighteen patients were included in the study. The mean time between injury and completion of the survey was 3.6 years. Fifty-six percent of patients had a right-sided fracture. The mean fracture area was 73.6 mm (Range:15-172 mm), and 913 mm (Range: 0-3106) was the mean volume displaced into the maxillary sinus. The unaffected inferior rectus muscle shape (height/width) was 0.5 (Range: 0.2-0.98) compared to 0.8 (Range 0.4-1.6) for the affected inferior rectus. After controlling for the time interval between survey and injury, gender, income, and education, rounding of the inferior rectus muscle was a significant predictor of appearance related psychosocial distress (P = 0.006). Inferior rectus rounding was stratified into "severe" (75%) and "moderate" (25%) categories. Severe rounding was associated with a larger orbital floor fracture area (110 versus 64 mm; P = 0.074), volume displaced into the maxillary sinus (1,716 versus 610 mm; P = 0.024), and worse appearance-related psychosocial distress (70 versus 25; P = 0.013). Sixty-one percent of patients followed up in clinic with a mean duration of 194 days.

CONCLUSION

Prior studies have correlated presenting radiographic findings to follow-up clinical findings. However, this study is the first to assess long-term outcomes using validated patient-reported questionnaires. Inferior rectus muscle belly rounding significantly correlated with appearance related psychosocial distress. This radiographic finding may be valuable to consider in orbital floor fracture management.