Medial orbital wall decompression: Demographics influencing surgical follow-up and complications

OBJECTIVE:Identify the impact of demographics and social determinants of health on surgical follow-up and complications after medial orbital wall decompression (MOWD) secondary to thyroid associated orbitopathy (TAO). METHODS:Demographics and social determinants of health (age, sex, race, insurance status) for 46 patients undergoing MOWD secondary to TAO were correlated with post-operative compliance and surgical complications by chi-square analyses. RESULTS:Among 46 patients, 23 were compliant with follow-up. There was no statistically significant difference between compliance and non-compliance based on age (60.25 vs 56.4, p = .41), sex (71.9 % female vs 85.7 % female, p = .31), race (65.6 % white vs 71.4 % white, p = .70) or insurance status (59.4 % private vs 42.9 % private, p = .30). Complications were noted in 50 % of patients of which sinus infection was most common (47.8 % of complications) and epistaxis rare (4.3 % of complications). No correlation was noted between development of complications and compliance (p = .20). Likewise, age, race and insurance status did not correlate with complications. CONCLUSION:For patients undergoing MOWD, no correlations with compliance or complication rate were noted with age, sex, race, or insurance status. A larger cohort may be indicated to identify such patterns. The overall complication rate was 50 % and the increased number of visits may have economic impact. KEY POINTS:This study provides a unique chance to assess demographic correlates of compliance and complication while controlling for surgeon preference. There was no association between sociodemographics and compliance or complications.