Spontaneous dehiscence of the lateral orbital wall

The lateral wall of the orbit is usually thicker than the floor, roof, or medial wall. Spontaneous bony defects of the lateral wall are extremely rare. We report a case of spontaneous lateral wall defect in a patient with thyroid eye disease, incidentally noted on CT scan and confirmed intraoperatively during orbital decompression. Bony remodeling and "spontaneous decompression" associated with thyroid eye disease has been reported, although it is unclear whether the patient's thyroid eye disease played a role with this osseous defect.