J Emerg Med
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Historical Article
A Historical Perspective of Lateral Canthotomy and Its Adoption as an Emergency Medicine Procedure.
The treatment of orbital compartment syndrome has a rich history rooted in surgery and emergency medicine. It is a rare but acute and vision-threatening condition that most commonly occurs secondary to facial trauma or as a postoperative complication, and was first recognized in 1950. Surgical techniques and medical management were developed and refined soon afterwards to eventually become the modern-day treatment, lateral canthotomy, and inferior cantholysis. ⋯ Lateral canthotomy is a procedure adopted by emergency physicians from the surgical literature. The history of its adoption is a representative example of how emergency medicine evolves as a field.