A newborn with a giant teratoma of the right orbit

Definition of orbital teratoma

Orbital teratomas are rare, usually benign congenital tumors, with about 70 cases reported in the English literature. Clinically, the tumor presents in healthy newborns with rapid growth, extreme unilateral proptosis and marked stretching of the eyelids over a tense, fluctuating mass, with elongation of the palpebral fissure and transillumination of all or part of the orbital mass. The persistent enlargement of this neoplasm is attributed to mucus secretion from the embryonic intestinal tissue.⁣

In this case, cyanoacrylate glue embolisation of the ophthalmic artery, using an umbilical catheter, followed by orbital exenteration under general anaesthesia was performed at 7 hours of life. Surgery was achieved in less than 2 hours with no bleeding, especially after sections of oculomotor muscles and optic nerve. Dilated skin tissue was long enough to heal the whole orbital cavity, and postoperative care has been uneventful after a follow-up of two years.⁣

Credit: Journal Français d’Ophtalmologie Volume 40, Issue 4, April 2017
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