GRAVES DISEASE ORBITAL DECOMPRESSION

Course overview

THYROID EYE DISEASE (TED), ALSO KNOWN AS THYROID-ASSOCIATED OPHTHALMOPATHY (TAO), THYROID ORBITOPATHY, GRAVES’ ORBITOPATHY, OR GRAVES’ OPHTHALMOPATHY (GO), CAUSES ORBITAL CONGESTION AND PROPTOSIS DUE TO EXTRAOCULAR MUSCLE AND ORBITAL FAT ENLARGEMENT WITH FIBROSIS. THESE ANATOMICAL ALTERATIONS CAN RESULT IN COMPRESSIVE OPTIC NEUROPATHY, EXPOSURE KERATOPATHY, AND OCULAR MOTILITY DISORDERS. TREATMENT OF PROPTOSIS FROM THYROID EYE DISEASE CONSISTS OF ORBITAL DECOMPRESSION, TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE ADJACENT SINUS SPACES TO EXPAND ORBITAL VOLUME. THE AMOUNT OF DECOMPRESSION REQUIRED IS DETERMINED ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS BASED ON PATIENT PRESENTATION. THIS ACTIVITY ILLUSTRATES THE EVALUATION AND MANAGEMENT OF PATIENTS WITH GRAVES' OPHTHALMOPATHY AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN IMPROVING CARE FOR PATIENTS WITH THIS CONDITION.