CASE REPORTS: Traumatic rupture of the inferior rectus muscle: case report and review of the literature

Abstract

Traumatic inferior rectus muscle rupture secondary to blunt injury in the absence of associated orbital or ocular fractures or injury is rarely encountered, and there are limited published reports on subsequent surgical repair. We present the case of a 74-year-old man with complete inferior rectus transection following a fall with facial strike. A computed tomography scan of the face was unremarkable. Surgical exploration and repair of the muscle was performed by hooking the inferior oblique muscle to identify the inferior rectus muscle. Subsequent strabismus surgery was performed for residual binocular diplopia, resulting in excellent anatomic and visual outcomes and postoperative ocular alignment.

Isolated Inferior Rectus Muscle Rupture and Surgical Repair: A Case Report

“…The surgical repair of such injuries is challenging as the posterior orbital muscle belly retracts immediately into the orbit, making the localization of the muscle difficult. Reviewing case reports in the literature, a case presented by Amer et al involved a 74-year-old patient with a ruptured IR muscle who underwent strabismus surgery for diplopia post-repair ( 7 ). Another case reported by Batra et al described a 42-year-old patient with a traumatic rupture of the IR muscle where the proximal muscle could not be located, and the remaining stump was found to be necrotic ( 8 ).…”