Liposarcoma metastatic to the orbit

PURPOSE: To describe a patient with liposarcoma metastatic to the left orbit.

METHODS: A 72-year-old man was admitted with diplopia and proptosis of the left eye. Previously, a retroperitoneal liposarcoma had been surgically removed followed by postoperative radiation. Visual acuity was normal. There was proptosis of the left eye, increased retrobulbar resistance and reduced mobility. Trans-septal orbital biopsies showed liposarcoma. The patient was initially treated with prednisolone and later received radio- and chemotherapy. Despite treatment he lost vision of the left eye and died a few months later.

RESULTS: Histological examination of the orbital tumor revealed a spindle-cell liposarcoma similar to the primary tumor of the retroperitoneum.

CONCLUSIONS: Liposarcoma metastatic to the orbit is rare, but should be suspected in a patient with proptosis caused by a space-occupying lesion and a history of liposarcoma.