Age at Surgery Significantly Impacts the Amount of Orbital Relapse following Hypertelorbitism Correction: A 30-Year Longitudinal Study

The aim of this study was to identify variables that affect orbital relapse after hypertelorbitism correction. The authors retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who underwent hypertelorbitism correction at a single institution between 1975 and 2005. Bony interorbital distance was measured postoperatively and at long-term follow-up. Orbital relapse was defined as the difference between bony interorbital distance measurements at these time points. Patients were stratified into groups based on age at primary surgical correction (early, 40 mm), and the type of surgical technique used (facial bipartition versus box osteotomy). Differences in relapse between the stratified groups were analyzed using paired t tests. A total of 22 patients met inclusion criteria for this study. Patients who underwent surgery before 8 years of age had a significantly higher degree of orbital relapse compared with older patients (5.9 mm versus 1.8 mm; p = 0.0142). There was no significant difference in orbital relapse based on the severity of the deformity or the operative technique used. Surgical correction of hypertelorbitism in patients younger than 8 years leads to a significantly higher rate of bony interorbital distance relapse compared with patients who undergo surgery at an older age. Neither the initial degree of severity nor the type of surgical technique correlates with relapse. The authors therefore recommend that in the absence of urgent factors necessitating early intervention, hypertelorbitism correction should be performed after 8 years of age.