Pediatric orbital floor trapdoor fractures: outcomes and CT-based morphologic assessment of the inferior rectus muscle.

INTRODUCTION: Trauma to the pediatric orbit may produce a unique fracture in which entrapment of the periorbital tissue and/or inferior rectus muscle may occur due to a "trap-door" effect of the compliant orbital floor. This study was designed to assess the outcome following the surgical management of orbital trapdoor fractures in children and to examine alterations in the morphology of the inferior rectus (IR) muscle.

METHODOLOGY: Outcome assessment on patients undergoing surgery at the Hospital For Sick Children, Toronto with symptomatic orbital floor trapdoor fractures over a 10-year period and a CT-based morphometric analysis of the inferior rectus muscle were performed.

RESULTS: 18 patients (5F, 13M) mean age 12.6 years (range 8.3-16.6 years) underwent surgical exploration (average time to surgery 9.7 ± 3.5 days (range 1-45 days). Follow-up was 15.4 months (range 6-36 months). All patients noted improvement in extra-ocular muscle (EOM) range of motion post-operatively: 7 patients had normal EOM with no diplopia; 9 patients had minimal diplopia on extreme secondary (upwards) gaze and 2 patients had residual significant diplopia with upward gaze. CT morphologic assessment (8 patients) demonstrated: a) zone of bony injury was posterior to the equator of the globe; b) minimal to no extra-conal fat exists to protect the IR muscle; c) a trend toward increased length in the injured IR muscle.

CONCLUSIONS: With surgical intervention, improvement of diplopia (complete or near-complete resolution) occurred in 16/18 (89%) of patients presenting with symptomatic trapdoor orbital floor fractures. CT-based assessment demonstrated the vulnerability of the inferior rectus muscle with close proximity to the orbital floor and lack of periorbital fat for protection. Alteration of the length of the IR muscle may impact the force-length relationship and play a role in the outcomes. Early surgical intervention for symptomatic trapdoor fractures is recommended.