Supraorbital approach for repair of open anterior skull base fracture

Abstract

To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of the use of anterior orbitotomy via the supraorbital eyelid crease to repair a dural tear caused by an orbital roof fracture. When transorbital penetrating injuries occur in children, they are commonly caused by accidental falls onto pointed objects. The authors report on their experience with a 7-year-old girl who fell onto a blunt metal rod hanger that penetrated her left eyelid, traversed superior to the eye globe, and penetrated the orbital roof at a depth of 3-4 cm, lacerating the dura mater and entering the cerebrum. An anterior transpalpebral transorbital approach was used to perform the microsurgical anterior skull base and dural repair. The authors advocate the application of this approach to orbital roof fractures because it provides excellent access to the orbital roof, eliminates the need for more invasive craniotomy, results in a small and well-hidden scar in the eye crease, and overall offers a shorter recovery time with less psychological stress to the patient.