CHEWING-INDUCED VISUAL IMPAIRMENT FROM A DUMBBELL DERMOID CYST

A 29-year-old woman presented with a 1-year history of blurred vision in her left eye while chewing. Examination revealed a rubbery mass wit h ill-defined borders in the superotemporal brow region. Imaging studi es demonstrated a cystic lesion extending from the temporal fossa into the orbit through a bony defect in the lateral orbital wall, assuming a dumbbell configuration. Histopathology of the excised specimen conf irmed the clinical diagnosis of a dermoid cyst of cutaneous origin. We believe that the patient's visual disturbance was caused by transient displacement of orbital contents by the dermoid cyst as it was compre ssed into the orbit during mastication. Dermoid cysts are frequently a ssociated with bony defects, which may require preoperative imaging an d may produce unexpected symptoms.