Thyroid Eye Disease

Risk Factors
1. Hyperthyroidism (95%), 2. Hypothyroidism (5%) and rarely euthyroid patients. Graves disease includes hyperthyroidism and is major risk factor.
TREATMENT - of thyroid eye disease entails addressing the ocular surface, ocular muscle function, inflammation of the orbital tissues and appearance. Traditional measures include use of drops followed by surgery to decompress the orbit. While this approach could improve some functional parameters, it would not address the root cause of the problem - inflammation of the extraocular muscles. LATEST TREATMENT - In 2019, the FDA approved the first non surgical treatment for thyroid eye disease, Tepezza (Teprotumumab). Tepezza is an immunologic treatment that addresses the root cause of thyroid eye disease. Patients who receive Tepezza have been shown to have improvement in double vision, dry eye, irritation, pain and other parameters without the need for orbiital decompression surgery. Orbital surgery can be carried out after Tepezza with superior results since inflammation is addressed. Like all treatments, there are side effects that must be considered.