Enophthalmos caused by orbital metastatic breast carcinoma

Diagnosis and management of enophthalmos

Enophthalmos is a relatively frequent and misdiagnosed clinical sign in orbital diseases. The knowledge of the different etiologies of enophthalmos and its adequate management are important, because in some cases, it could be the first sign revealing a life-threatening disease. This article provides a comprehensive review of the pathophysiology, evaluation, and management of enophthalmos. The main etiologies, such as trauma, chronic maxillary atelectasis (silent sinus syndrome), breast cancer metastasis, and orbital varix, will be discussed. Its objective is to enable the reader to recognize, assess, and treat the spectrum of disorders causing enophthalmos.

Strabismus surgery complicated by "pulled in two syndrome" in a case of breast carcinoma metastatic to the medial rectus muscle

Metastatic carcinoma to the extraocular muscles is extremely rare; it is reported to occur from breast, lung, and gastric carcinoma as well as skin melanoma. (1-3) Overall, intraocular metastases occur much more frequently than orbital metastases.(4) The most common primary tumors causing orbital metastases are breast and lung carcinomas.(5) Strabismus due to orbital metastases from breast carcinoma usually results from fibrosis of the muscle, which often causes painful ophthalmoplegia and enophthalmos. (6,7) We report a case of presumed metastatic carcinoma to the medial rectus muscle causing restrictive strabismus in which surgery was complicated by the "pulled in two syndrome," or PITS.

Tumors metastatic to the orbit: a changing picture

Clinical characteristics of tumors metastatic to the orbit are related to primary tumor biology, and vary substantially among the various primary types. Common known primary sites include breast, lung, prostate, and melanoma. Tumor presentations can be classified into four generalized syndromes of mass, infiltrative, inflammatory, and functional effects. We found the infiltrative syndrome of presentation to be more common than for other types of orbital neoplasm. Accurate diagnosis often depends on recognition of the types of clinical syndromes and on the use of diagnostic modalities such as computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, fine needle aspiration biopsy, and open biopsy. Special histologic techniques are often useful in determining the origin of these often poorly differentiated tumors, and can provide a basis for specific hormonal therapy. Ophthalmologists play a vital role in the diagnosis of metastatic cancer; the orbital tumor was the presenting sign of systemic cancer in 42% of the cases reviewed. Although the overall prognosis for patients with metastatic cancer is quite poor, specific therapy is available for a growing number of cancers. Timely intervention based on accurate diagnosis can dramatically improve the duration and quality of life with selected tumors.

Enophthalmos as a rare manifestation of metastatic orbital involvement

Two cases in which orbital metastasis produced enophthalmos, instead of the usual exophthalmos, are reported. Only fourteen other cases have been described previously and they are reviewed. At time of diagnosis of the enophthalmos, meningeal carcinomatosis coexisted in the first case and probably also in the second case. This association can lead to diagnostic errors with either the orbital metastasis or the meningeal carcinomatosis being missed. In addition, as in our second case, the enophthalmos can be the initial manifestation of cancer.