Correlation between the Time to Surgery and That to Recovery from Postoperative Diplopia Based on a Single-Center, Retrospective Experience: A Case Series of 11 Patients

BACKGROUND: We conducted this study to identify the correlation between the time to surgery and that to recovery from postoperative diplopia. METHODS: In the current single-center, retrospective study, we enrolled a total of 11 patients (n=11) who were diagnosed with white-eyed blowout fracture and underwent surgical operation at our institution between January 2009 and January 2013. To identify the correlation between the time to surgery and that to recovery from postoperative diplopia, we divided our patients into the three groups: the group A (time to surgery, <2 days) (n=4), the group B (time to surgery, 3-7 days) (n=4) and the group C (n=3) (time to surgery, 8-60 days). Then, we compared such variables as sex, age, signs of soft tissue injury, preoperative nausea/vomiting, the degree of preoperative diplopia and the side of the fracture on computed tomography scans between the three groups. RESULTS: In our series, mean age at the onset of trauma was nine years (range, 5-16 years); the mean time to surgery was 30 days (range, 2-60 days); and the mean follow-up period was one year (range, 6 months-2 years). Our results showed that the time to recovery was shorter in the patients with a shorter time to surgery. CONCLUSIONS: We found that the degree of recovery from impaired ocular motility and diplopia was the highest in the patients undergoing surgical operations within 48 hours of the onset of trauma with the reconstruction of the fracture sites using implant materials.