Early Intervention in Orbital Floor Fractures: Postoperative Ocular Motility and Diplopia Outcomes

Purpose: Orbital floor fractures commonly occur during orbital trauma. Currently, the indications for orbital fracture repair and the appropriate duration between trauma and surgical intervention remain controversial. Methods: Eyes diagnosed with orbital floor fractures that underwent reconstruction surgery were retrospectively reviewed. Demographic data were analyzed. Patients were classified based on the timing of the surgical intervention after injury. Ocular limitation and diplopia were evaluated preoperatively and postoperatively at one week, one month, and three months. Results: Two hundred seventy eyes of 270 patients (174 males and 96 females, mean age: 40.9 +/- 16.3 years) were identified. The mean duration from injury to surgical intervention was 18.0 +/- 21.2 days (range: 0-117 days). In the subgroup analysis, compared to delayed treatment, the early repair of floor fractures, i.e., within 7 days, was associated with significant motility and diplopia resolution at one week (p = 0.001, p < 0.001), one month (p < 0.001, p < 0.001), and three months (p < 0.001, p < 0.001). Sex and the duration from injury to repair were significantly associated with postoperative ocular motility (p = 0.001; p = 0.024) and diplopia (p < 0.001; p = 0.008) at three months. Multivariate analysis revealed that preoperative limitation and diplopia were correlated with postoperative limitation (p = 0.007) and diplopia (p = 0.001), respectively. Conclusions: The duration between orbital floor fracture and surgical treatment was associated with postoperative limitation and diplopia. Our results suggest that earlier intervention in symptomatic patients with orbital trauma may improve postoperative visual function.