The Case of Inferior Oblique Muscle Overaction after Orbital Trauma

Sung Bok Lee; Joo Young Kwag; Yeon Hee Lee

doi:10.3341/jkos.2011.52.5.639

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Lee, Kwag, and Lee: The Case of Inferior Oblique Muscle Overaction after Orbital Trauma

Original Article

J Korean Ophthalmol Soc 2011;52(5):639-643.

Published online: 3 August 2011

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3341/jkos.2011.52.5.639

The Case of Inferior Oblique Muscle Overaction after Orbital Trauma

Sung Bok Lee, MD, PhD, Joo Young Kwag, MD, Yeon Hee Lee, MD

Department of Ophthalmology, Chungnam National University Hospital, Chungnam National University College of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea

Address reprint requests to Yeon Hee Lee, MD Department of Ophthalmology, Chungnam National University Hospital #640 Daesa-dong, Jung-gu, Daejeon 301-721, Korea Tel: 82-42-280-8447, Fax: 82-42-255-3745, E-mail: opticalyh@hanmail.net

Received 13 August 201019 October 2010 Accepted 2 March 2011

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Purpose

To report a case of inferior oblique muscle overaction after orbital trauma.

Case summary

A 19-year-old male presented with a blowout fracture of the right inferior orbital wall. The patient had no history of facial asymmetry, head tilt, strabismus or diplopia. The day after the reduction operation, the patient complained of diplopia on the down-gaze. The patient had orhthophoria in the primary position. However, the right eye showed a limitation on infraduction. Six weeks later, the limitation of infraduction resolved, however the diplopia worsened. The right eye showed excessive elevation in adduction and hypertropia in the primary position. The hypertropia increased on left gaze, and decreased on right gaze. Bielschowsky’s head test revealed a negative result. The fundus photographs showed a mild excyclotorsion of the right eye. Five months later, the symptoms and signs were stable and surgery was performed. Under general anesthesia, the exaggerated forced duction test and traction with strabismus hook on the right inferior oblique muscle revealed tightness. The inferior oblique muscle was found to be recessed. After the operation, the diplopia, hypertropia and the excessive elevation on adduction of the right eye resolved.

Conclusions

A contracture and resultant overaction of inferior oblique muscle could develop after trauma on the inferior orbital wall. Trauma on the inferior orbital wall should be considered as one of the primary causes of acquired inferior oblique overaction.

Keywords: Blowout fracture, Inferior oblique overaction, Trauma

References

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Figure 1.

Photographs of nine cardinal gazes before operation. The patient’s right eyes had hypertropia and excessive elevation in adduction and deficient depression in adduction. Bielschowsky’s head test reveals negative result.

Figure 2.

Fundus photographs show a mild excyclotorsion of the right eye.

Figure 3.

Photographs of nine cardinal gazes, after the operation. The patient has no tropia in the primary position. He had no excessive elevation in adduction.

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