Acquired Brown Syndrome as a Postoperative Complication of Orbital Wall Fracture Repair with Metallic Mesh
<b>Background:</b> Surgical repair of orbital fractures comes with risks. One rare risk is interference with the actions of the superior oblique tendon-muscle complex causing an acquired Brown syndrome. We present the case of a 45-year-old man who developed acquired Brown syndrome after undergoing repair of a large orbital floor and medial orbital wall fracture using a titanium mesh implant. A case report was prepared to discuss a rare surgical risk with open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) of an orbital wall fracture. <b>Methods:</b> A retrospective chart review was performed. <b>Results:</b> Post-operative ophthalmological assessment revealed persistent diplopia along with limitations of up-gaze particularly in the adducted position. Ultimately, the patient underwent surgical repositioning of the orbital implant, which seemingly released the superior oblique muscle-tendon complex, resolving most of the diplopia. No further treatment with prisms or strabismus surgery has been required. <b>Conclusions:</b> Acquired Brown syndrome is a potential risk of surgical repair of orbital fractures involving the medial orbital wall. Herein this case study, we describe a case of acquired Brown syndrome following ORIF of an orbital floor and medial wall fracture, which was alleviated with a revision surgery.
Authors
- Matthew D. Benson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5910-358X)
- Joshua J. DeSerres
- Nikhil S. Patil (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3929-0482)
- Trent Schimmel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8842-3045)
- Justin J. Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7583-2117)
Institutions
- University of Alberta (CA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Plastic Surgery
- Published
- 2025-08-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1177/22925503251371048
- Primary Topic
- Facial Trauma and Fracture Management
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00