Blunt trauma to the eye.

1. Blunt trauma to the orbital region may result in a blowout fracture, characteristically found in the orbital floor, which may contain herniated orbital contents including both inferior muscles of the eye. Persistent diplopia continues as a problem in a significant number of patients following the surgical management of a blowout fracture of the orbit. 2. Prompt recognition and treatment of blowout fractures exhibiting diplopia is usually successful. Inferior rectus and inferior oblique muscles incarcerated in a blowout fracture site for periods varying from two months to nine years may fail to function properly even following successful release of the entrapped muscles. There is some presumptive evidence to suggest a myogenic or neurogenic cause for such dysfunction. 3. Vertical diplopia that persists beyond three months following release of entrapped muscle tissue requires surgical correction, depending on the degree of vertical dissociation. 4. Motility surgery was required in 18 of 20 cases of persistent diplopia. Multiple muscle combinations are frequently required to achieve success. The criterion for a successful result was elimination of vertical diplopia in the primary and reading positions.