Measurement of Orbit using Standardized Processing of CT Scan

Abstract

Purpose : Surgical correction of various occular problems which do not have visual problem in plastic surgical area is to normalize the appearance of the face by restoring the normal position of orbit and eyeball. With development of surgical technique, the orbit can be restored exactly in trauma patient and can be moved totally in hypertelorism, as an example of congenital disease. All these surgeries are based on the hypothesis that the position of oclular glove moves in the plane in a quantitatively predictable reationship to osseous orbit movement. However, no studies have critically evaluated between the change of periorbital soft tissue and the outcome of the surgical correction, because there is no method of objective, quantitave evaluation of the periorbital soft tissue. Method : Author suggest the methodology for quantitative assessment of ocular and periocular fat changes using the manipulation of digital images of computed tomographic scan. Results : The method was allowed to evaluate inter-dacryon distance, inter-centroid distance, movement of the medial orbital wall, movement of the lateral orbital wall, alteration of thickness of the lateral periorbital fat as indicator of movement of the orbital wall and orbit in the patient with congenital periorbital anomaly and postoperative periorbital surgery. The goal of surgical correction of various occular problems which do not have visual problem in plastic surgical area is to normalize the appearance of the face by restoring the normal position of orbit and eyeball. With development of surgical technique, the orbit can be restored exactly in trauma patient and can be moved totally in hypertelorism, as an example of congenital disease. All these sugeries are based on the hypothesis that the position of oclular glove moves in the plane in a quantitatively predictable relationship to osseous orbit movement. However, no studies have critically evaluated between the change of periorbital soft tissue and the outcome of the surgical correction, because there is no method of objective, quantitave evaluation of the periorbital soft tissue. In this report, author suggest the methodology for quantitative assessment of ocular and periocular fat changes using the manipulation of digital images of computed tomographic scan. Conclusion : The method suggested is objective and accurate method in measurement of the orbital contents. It takes time and is not easy to do, however, this kind of measurement for fine structures will be more easily available in near future.