eye deformity and enopthalmos

[john1123]

Hi, I'm a 31 y/o male with a right and left cribriform plate deformity from an accident to the head area, which caused a fracture of the left orbital that extends from the top of the middle orbit to behind the eye and it ends up going to the left of the cheekbone according to CT scan. Currently my left cheek looks flatter than the other. I feel like my left eye is being squeezed and it does have a very squeezed look to it too; not sperical anymore. As time goes by it keeps going back and back into the socket. A cornea specialist noticed these two things too and referred me to an ocular plastic surgeon; I already saw the ocular plastic surgeon but he said he cant do anything unless it was an orbital floor fracture, which its not. He said if it got worse, he would have to work with a neurosurgeon to do surgery. He denied seeing any deformity of the eye other than the enopthalmos even though I insisted I feel alot of pain and the left eye shape surely looks abnormal. I dont know the medical term for this deformity, but the cornea specialist did see the enopthalmos and the deformity of the left eye. I'm obviously not a doctor but this fracture seems to be getting wider. Could this cause visual problems in the future? If you were in my position, what would you do? Thanks so much, in advance, for your advice.

[john1123]

Thanks for the response, Dr. Oyakawa.  Actually my vision in both eyes has changed slightly ever since my left eye started sinking back and looking squeezed; I see a transparent double of the object,especially if the object is emitting some light(e.g. reflective street signs at night). Also, I sometimes see flashes.The right eye looks slightly bulged but is not  obvious. I'm not a doctor but I think the eye deformity in both eyes are due to the cribriform plate being deformed and the sinking eye keeps going back because of the orbital fracture keeps opening more over time, have you heard of this before? I sleep upright to prevent anymore damage.

Is it possible that the tissue/fat in the orbital has seeped behind the fracture? My tears seem very "mucousy" when I tear, and white discharge collects at the end of the day at the corner of both eyes, along with dryness and intense itching due to the collected discharge. Thanks, in advance, for your response!

[Ray T Oyakawa, MD]

Every case is different.  However, if the vision in this eye is about he same as before the apparent deformity is due to loss of tissue in the orbit.

Dr. O.