In the past two years, 66-year-old Uncle Du gradually appeared to see more and more blurred, initially thought it was presbyopia, cataract, did not pay special attention. However, his condition gradually worsened, especially in the last month, and his right eye became so severe that he lost the sense of light and became almost completely blind, while the vision of his left eye also decreased significantly. He visited the ophthalmology department of a local hospital and after an MRI examination, he found that a huge swelling had grown inside his nose, which caused the eye problem. After receiving the patient, Director Li Yong considered that it might be a huge sinus cyst pressing on the eye, so he was immediately hospitalized and operated on. After the surgery, Mr. Du’s vision was restored to 4.5 in his left eye, and his blind right eye could see objects shaking in front of him and is still recovering. Both the patient and his family were very satisfied and surprised!
So, what exactly is the relationship between the eyes and the nose? How can something growing in the nose cause such a serious problem in the eye?
From the outside, we can see that the eyes and nose are very close to each other, but in fact, the relationship between the two is even closer in the internal structure of the skull. Inside the skull, the nose is connected to the skull and the eyes are connected to the outside. The nose and the eyes are separated by a thin piece of paper-like bone, which is why otolaryngologists call it a paper-like plate. When there is a lesion in the nasal cavity or a trauma to the nose, it can cause the paper plate to press into the orbit. If it compresses the nerves and muscles of the eye, it can cause loss of vision and double vision, which can lead to blindness in severe cases. Secondly, inside the pterygoid sinus, we can directly see the optic nerve and the optic cross, so the lesion in the pterygoid sinus will directly compress the optic nerve and cause the vision loss. Therefore, eye problems should not only be considered as a disease of the eye, but also as a result of its “neighbor” the nose.
The transnasal endoscopic treatment of nasal and ocular related diseases carried out by the Department of Otolaryngology has natural advantages, especially for trauma, foreign bodies and tumors behind the bulb and inside the optic nerve, which can be treated through the nostril with less trauma, no scarring and better exposure than from outside the orbit.