Orbital Fracture
Dr. Carey is a leading expert in the repair of fracture involving the orbital bones or bones that surround the eye. He operates on bones involving the inside of the orbit and its rim. Such fractures may result in deformities of the face, poor movement of the eye, double vision, or cause the eye to sink back into the orbit. Rim fractures are often referred to as Trimalar fractures because the Zygomatic bone (also called the Trimalar bone because of its three articulations or connections to other bones) is the main bone of the lateral orbit. It is a very prominent and thus protective bone of the orbit and is frequently involved in trauma. This bone is repaired with titanium plating after being wedged back into place.
The interior orbital bone repair involves releasing entrapped tissue from the floor and medial wall and placing a plate to cover the defect. Floor and medial wall fractures occur when the pressure in the orbit is increased due to trauma generally from an object greater than the width of the orbit such as a ball or fist. This increased pressure causes the thin orbital bones to give way releasing the pressure and thus protecting the orbital contents such as the eye! So thank God for orbital fractures — they save a lot of sight. Both Trimalar fractures and orbital fractures are repaired by Dr. Carey generally without a skin incision. The incision is made through the conjunctiva of the lower lid. Sometimes an eyebrow, lateral canthal or mouth incision is used as well.
Precise evaluation and repair of orbital fractures are necessary to insure the best possible protection and function of the eye. Dr. Carey, with an extensive medical sports background has used this repair on Professional and College athletes of all the major sports including NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, Professional Boxing and the PAC-10. Many times these athletes are returned to action within several weeks. The materials used are constantly changing as technology improves however Dr. Carey’s basic approach as described above has been constant for many years.