Aim: The aim of this review was to establish the timing and the role of surgery within the multidisciplinary treatment of orbital lesions.
Methods: It was retrospectively analysed a consecutive series of 50 orbital lesions, surgically treated in the Department of Neurosurgery of the Udine University Hospital (Udine, Italy) between 1998 and 2007, and reviewed the current literature on this subject.
Results: This series of 50 consecutive symptomatic patients surgically treated (32 total resection, 10 subtotal removal and 8 biopsies ) was first evaluated, with the aim of comparing our experience with that of other groups. In this review, not only orbital lesions having the same histology as those treated by the authors, but also most of the others reported in the literature have been discussed, focusing particular attention on surgery.
Conclusions: There is a wide variety of orbital lesions with fragmentation of experience about correct diagnosis and treatment, also because of the different specialists who treat orbital pathology. Consequently, in surgery different indications may be considered for a total/subtotal resection or just a biopsy, and even the "wait and see" option is quite present. Considering that the surgery of the orbit is an affordable and not particularly risky choice for the patient, the authors think that it still remains an important step in a combined therapeutical strategy.