Duane retraction syndrome mimicking orbital fracture

Abstract We describe the case of a 20-year-old patient who presented at the accident and emergency department with symptoms and signs of fractures of the zygomatic complex and orbit following an assault. He was later discovered to have Duane retraction syndrome, a rare congenital disorder of eye movement that has some of the clinical characteristics of fractures of the zygomatic complex and orbit. The fracture was not displaced, and without knowledge of the syndrome a surgeon might have been forced to investigate further.