Tuberculosis of the orbit and lacrimal gland: a clinical study of 14 cases.

Fourteen patients with tuberculosis of the orbit and lacrimal gland seen over a period of 20 years have been presented. The majority of them were between the ages of 4 to 15 years. Males were affected twice as frequently as females. Left side was affected four times as frequently as the right side. There were eight patients of periostitis of orbital margin, one patient of dacryoadenitis, three patients of tuberculoma of orbital tissues, and two patients of tuberculoma of maxillary sinus. One patient with periostitis had involvement of the greater and lesser wings of sphenoid in addition to the involvement of upper-outer orbital margin. Two periostitis patients had prolapse of the palpebral portion of the lacrimal gland. The clinical presentation and gross appearance of the tuberculoma of the lacrimal gland was similar to those found in benign mixed tumor. The patients with tuberculoma of orbital tissues presented as pseudotumors. The mimicry of tuberculoma of maxillary sinus to carcinoma has been mentioned. Associated tuberculous lesions were pulmonary in eight patients, cervical lymphadenitis in ten patients, intestinal in one patient, and caries spine in one patient. In two patients the disease developed in the absence of any other tuberculous lesion discovered in the body. The cases were cured by wide surgical removal of all the diseased tissues combined with antituberculous chemotherapy.