Does diplopia persist after blow-out fractures of the orbital floor in children?

Blow-out fractures of the orbital floor are comparatively rare in children, particularly those less than 8 years old. Published reports have suggested that the long-term outcome in children is worse than that in adults with similar injuries. In this study, we examine this question in the light of data from 45 children from Birmingham and Glasgow who were divided into three age ranges: 0-9 years (n = 9), 10-12 years (n = 11) and 13-15 years (n = 25). Fourteen were treated conservatively and 31 were treated surgically. The 0-9-year-old group were more likely to have small- or medium-sized defects in the anterior part of the orbital floor, which were of a linear 'trapdoor' type. The 13-15-year-olds tended to have larger 'open-door' defects. More than half the 0-9-year-olds had persistent diplopia compared with just under a third of the two other age groups. This diplopia took twice as long to resolve in the younger group compared with the other two groups. Our results confirm the view that younger patients have more persistent problems than adults after blow-out fractures of the orbital floor.