Doctors at FV Hospital conduct surgery on a Chinese paediatric patient. — Photo courtesy of the hospital

HCM CITY — A five-year-old Chinese girl has been saved from the risk of blindness after doctors at FV Hospital in HCM City successfully performed surgery to treat a rare orbital abscess. The child has now regained nearly full vision and returned to normal life.

The patient, H.W., was brought to FV Hospital with a fever, headache, and abnormal swelling of her left eye, with the eyeball protruding from its socket (proptosis).

According to her family, she had developed a mild fever and headache three days earlier, which they initially thought was a common flu and treated at home. However, when the swelling in her left eye worsened and the eyeball began to protrude, they rushed her to hospital for examination.

Upon examination, Dr Võ Lê Khánh Hùng from the hospital’s Ophthalmology and Refractive Surgery Department noted that the patient’s pupil reflex was no longer responsive.

“The signs of damage were already very severe,” Dr Hùng said. “Without timely intervention, the optic nerve could have been compressed, causing the patient to lose her eyesight completely.”

CT scans and further tests revealed that the girl had developed an orbital abscess caused by multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a dangerous bacterium resistant to many common antibiotics. The infection had originated from sinusitis and spread dangerously close to the central nervous system, posing risks of meningitis, brain infection, or even death if not treated promptly.

Given the rapid and serious progression of the condition, the hospital immediately convened a multidisciplinary consultation involving specialists in ophthalmology, otorhinolaryngology (ENT), paediatrics, and infectious diseases to determine the best course of treatment.

The doctors concluded that antibiotic therapy alone would not be sufficient, as the abscess could continue to spread, missing the “golden window” to save the girl’s vision. They therefore decided to perform emergency surgery the same day to drain the pus, relieve pressure in the orbit, and treat the underlying sinus infection.

Just a few days after surgery, H.W. was free from fever, the swelling had reduced significantly, and she was able to eat and play normally. Her left-eye vision recovered by around 50 per cent after one week of treatment and has since nearly fully returned.

Doctors warned that sinusitis leading to a deep orbital abscess is rare but can worsen rapidly, threatening a child’s vision and even life. Worryingly, the symptoms can be insidious and are often mistaken for a common cold or flu. By the time visible signs such as eye swelling or protrusion appear, the condition is already severe, making treatment more difficult and risky.

They advised parents to take children to hospital promptly if they develop prolonged fever, facial or eye swelling, or persistent nasal or throat inflammation, and not to rely on home remedies, as acute sinusitis can lead to serious complications or become chronic. — VNS