Lymphomas represent neoplasia derived from the immune system. When such diseases do affect the orbit, they can usually be divided o;-, the basis of features such as lymphocyte maturity and growth pattern Into three main categories: Idiopathic inflamma-tions, lymphoproliferative disorders and frank lymphoma, Rootman et al., (1988). Lym-phocytic tumours of the orbit are predominant in adults and rare in children. Lymphomas make up the malignant group of these lymphocytic tumours.
Lymphoproliferative diseases of the orbit and elsewhere probabl y represent disorders of immune regulation with abnormal proliferations of the im-mune cells and their progeny. Neoplastic transfor-mation may result in replication at any stage along the differentiation pathway of B-cell to plasma cell, T-cell, or histiocyte, Harris et al., (1984). It has been observed during our work on the primary Orbital tumours over the last 7 years that the orbital lymphomas had an increasing in-cidence. Many reports has been published in this particular, the emphasis was placed on orbital lym-phomas as a manifestation of systemic disease. The aim of this work is to present the characteristic presentations and management of these cases. Is it possible for the orbit to be the only home for a lymphocyt; c tumours, or a mere early location for a wide spread lesions. The second interest is how to deal with these increasingly detectable tumours.
PATIENTS AND METHODS Out of twenty six patients with primary orbital masses attended the Ophthalmology Department, Benha Faculty of Medicine over a period of seven
years, ten patients proved to have orbital lym-phomas.
The age ranged between 54 and 70 years, six were men, four were women.
All patients were diagnosed without difficulty as orbital masses. Plain x-rays of the skull and orbit (Caldwell and Waters v,:ws) showed a normal orbital foramena and walls. C.T. scanning of the axial and coronal constructions were performed for all cases. It helps in getting a better topographic overview, better evaluation of bony structures, complete evaluation of peri orbital and retro=orbi-tal spaces. Standardized echography was carried out in three cases with more tissue differentiation, meas-urements and topographic ._etails. A biopsy of t'..e orbital mass was obtained through anterior orbitotomy approach under local anaesthesia.
Before a patient was considered to have a primaryorbital lymphoma, an exhaustive systemic |
