2020 Volume 37 Issue 3 Pages 285-292
Thyroid eye disease is an inflammatory condition associated with a variety of symptoms depending on the degree and stage of the disease. In addition to visual disturbances, this condition may cause emotional disorders secondary to disfigurement of the mid-face and an altered facial appearance. Oculoplastic surgery is useful for correcting morphological changes that are refractory to non-surgical management for the control of inflammation. Imaging modalities such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging were not available prior to the 1980s; therefore, the surgical approach was not popular owing to the risk of serious complications. In the current era,following the improvements in surgical techniques, advances in imaging technology, and the availability of novel supporting devices such as surgical navigation systems and sophisticated endoscopes, surgery can be safely performed to reduce inflammation even during the active phase of the disease. According to those developments, oculoplastic surgery is now aimed to both recover visual function and to restore patients’facial appearance as closely as possible to the pre-disease condition.
