Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Exophthalmus secondary to a sinonasal cyst in a horse.
- Journal:
- Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
- Year:
- 2008
- Authors:
- Annear, Matthew J et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences · United States
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A 13-year-old female Miniature Horse was seen because her left eye was bulging out for three weeks. During the exam, everything else seemed normal, but the vet found that the left eye was not able to be pushed back in and there was some mild irritation around the eye. A special scan showed a large cyst in the sinuses that was pushing into the area behind the eye. The vet drained the cyst and then performed surgery to remove most of it, which completely fixed the bulging eye. Four months later, there was no sign of the cyst coming back.
Abstract
CASE DESCRIPTION: A 13-year-old female Miniature Horse was evaluated for progressive unilateral exophthalmia of the left globe of 3 weeks' duration. CLINICAL FINDINGS: Results of a physical examination were unremarkable. Ophthalmic examination identified exophthalmus of the left globe with complete resistance to retropulsion and mild blepharoconjunctivitis. Computed tomography revealed a large, space-occupying mass within the left caudal maxillary and left conchofrontal sinuses. The mass extended into the left retrobulbar space and contacted the cribriform plate. Trephination yielded copious amounts of turbid yellow fluid. The diagnosis was a sinonasal cyst. TREATMENT AND OUTCOME: Subtotal surgical excision of the cyst via a frontonasal osteoplastic flap was curative, with complete resolution of the exophthalmus. Histologic examination confirmed diagnosis of a sinonasal cyst. There was no evidence of cyst recurrence by 4 months after surgery. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Sinonasal cyst should be a differential diagnosis for retrobulbar disease in horses. Exophthalmia may be the only clinical finding in horses with a sinonasal cyst.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18627235/