Abstract

THE ROLE OF ORBITAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (MRI) IN ORBITAL AND OCULAR DISEASES

*Rafiq I. Haddad, MD, Wafa’a A. Shwayat, MD, Shihab A. Al bed, MD, Noor M. Al-Adwan, MD, Hosamadden Alkayid, MD

ABSTRACT

Aim: to assess the role of orbital (MRI) in the management of orbital and ocular diseases among adults. Method: The is a retrospective study conducted at Prince Rashid Bin Al Hassan Military hospital. All patients aged 18 years or older and underwent orbital MRI within the last 3 years were included in the study. The orbital MRI protocol included T1- & T2- weighted oblique axial and sagittal images along the plane of the optic nerve, and true coronal T2-weighted images. axial and coronal fat suppressing was performed when the MRI was performed with contrast. Data regarding demographic features if the patients, patients’ complaints and reason for requesting orbital MRI were initially obtained and the results of the orbital MRI images were recorded and analyzed. Results: A bout 200 patients aged between 18 and 76 years (mean 52±13.1 years) were included in the study. 112 of them were males (56%). The most frequent complaint among the patients was headache and eye pain 38% and most common reason for requesting orbital MRI was to rule out orbital cellulitis and abscess 41%. Norma MRI was found in 70% of patients while inflammatory, neoplastic, structural abnormalities, vascular and degenerative lesion were found in 18%,12%,3%,3% and 1% respectively. Conclusion: MRI is an important tool in ophthalmology practice it provides a valuable information regarding site, nature and extent of orbital lesions. The highest correlation between clinical exam and MRI finding was seen in patients with thyroid ophthalmopathy and melanoma.

Keywords: Adults, Orbital lesions, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).