BACKGROUND: Intraorbital haematoma while scuba diving is a rare finding after barotrauma. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Case report. RESULTS: A 36-year-old woman presented with a swelling of the left lid after having dived to 10 m below sea level. The CT scan and MR imaging of the head revealed a retrobulbar intraconal haemorrhage within the left orbit. Three months after the accident the patient did not have any complaints, angiography could not detect any intracerebral vascular anomalies. As a complicating risk factor the patient had fibrous constrictions of both Eustachian tubes rendering the compulsory nasopharyngeal decompression process during scuba diving impossible. CONCLUSION: Vascular intracerebral anomalies which could be the potential cause for the described retrobulbar haemorrhage must be excluded so as to reduce the risk of recurrence.
BACKGROUND:Intraorbital haematoma while scuba diving is a rare finding after barotrauma. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Case report. RESULTS: A 36-year-old woman presented with a swelling of the left lid after having dived to 10 m below sea level. The CT scan and MR imaging of the head revealed a retrobulbar intraconal haemorrhage within the left orbit. Three months after the accident the patient did not have any complaints, angiography could not detect any intracerebral vascular anomalies. As a complicating risk factor the patient had fibrous constrictions of both Eustachian tubes rendering the compulsory nasopharyngeal decompression process during scuba diving impossible. CONCLUSION:Vascular intracerebral anomalies which could be the potential cause for the described retrobulbar haemorrhage must be excluded so as to reduce the risk of recurrence.