Early versus late orbital decompression in Graves' orbitopathy: a retrospective study in 125 patients.

Purpose: To determine if early rehabilitative orbital decompression in Graves' orbitopathy (GO) leads to a more effective postoperative outcome than the same intervention performed at a later, more likely, fibrotic stage.

Design: Retrospective comparative case series.

Participants: The medical records of all GO patients treated with a 3-wall orbital decompression at our institution between 1990 and 2000 were reviewed retrospectively.