Life-threatening inflammations of the orbita.

In spite of improved methods for the diagnosis of orbital inflammation (for example, computerized tomography), final decision for an adequate therapy is often made too late. Because of modern antibiotics surgical intervention is often not the first treatment even though it is imperative when an orbital inflammation changes from periostitis to a subperiostitic abscess. The symptoms of these changes have to be watched carefully. Complications like visual loss, persisting protrusion, and motility disorders can result from too long confidence in conservative therapy. Furthermore hematogenous conduction can cause long lasting disorders in the brain such as cavernous sinus thrombosis and cerebral abscesses. The goals of the therapy have to be reconstruction of an inflammatory focus, adequate therapy of orbital inflammations and the prevention of tertiary lesions.