The role of ultrasonography in the diagnosis of orbital lymphangiomas

Orbital lymphangiomas are benign hamartomatous tumours usually diagnosed in early childhood, In contrast with the benign histology, these lesions have a locally aggressive nature. They may enlarge slowly, producing mild propt osis; nevertheless intrinsic haemorrhage can occur, producing a mass effect and leading to intractable, painful, progressive proptosis, and compressiv e optic neuropathy. A conservative approach is advisable for several reason s: complete resection is difficult because these lesions, unlike haemangiom as, are not encapsulated, do not respect anatomic boundaries, tend to penet rate into normal structures, and can bleed profusely during surgery. For th ese reasons, an early diagnosis is important. On this subject, ultrasonogra phy appears to be the first-choice diagnostic test, because of its sensitiv ity and simplicity, particularly in childhood; therefore we recommend to al ways perform this test in the presence of orbital vascular lesion. Copyrigh t (C) 2001 S. Karger AG. Basel.