Isolated medial orbital blow-out fracture with medial rectus entrapment.

PURPOSE

The authors report on three cases of isolated medial orbital blow-out fracture with medial rectus entrapment which occurred in black males. Only a few similar cases have been reported in the literature.

METHODS

The diagnosis was established with the help of tomography and CT scan of the orbit.

RESULTS

The diagnosis could be expected from the clinical signs occurring after blow-out trauma mechanisms: eyelid emphysema, nasal subconjunctival haemorrhage, motility disturbance, enophthalmos.

CONCLUSION

An ethnic anatomic hypothesis could explain the predominance of this fracture in blacks. This fracture often remains undiagnosed. The diagnosis was based on axial and especially coronal CT scan of the orbit. The physician should be alerted by some clinical signs that justify these radiographic techniques.