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Research Article: Changes in multimodal MRI parameters following orbital decompression surgery for thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy and their associations with clinical outcomes

Date Published: 2026-08-17

Abstract:
To evaluate postoperative changes in multimodal quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) parameters after orbital decompression in thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy and explore their associations with clinical outcomes. This retrospective study included 47 patients (61 eyes) assessed before and 6 months after surgery. Eye-level longitudinal outcomes were analyzed using linear mixed-effects models with random intercepts for patients and eyes nested within patients. Graves’ Ophthalmopathy Quality of Life questionnaire (GO-QOL) outcomes were analyzed using patient-level mixed-effects models. MRI–clinical associations were assessed using generalized estimating equations or multivariable linear regression. Benjamini–Hochberg false discovery rate correction was applied within prespecified hypothesis families. After correction, proptosis and best-corrected visual acuity improved significantly, as did visual-function, appearance, and total GO-QOL scores. Multiple structural and diffusion-related MRI parameters also changed significantly after surgery. Greater reductions in corneal protrusion distance were associated with greater reductions in proptosis ( q = 0.008). At the patient level, greater reductions in the vertical orbital apex area index and fat space apparent diffusion coefficient were associated with greater improvements in visual-function and total GO-QOL scores. No MRI parameter remained associated with appearance improvement after correction. A significant time-by-disease-subtype interaction was observed only for best-corrected visual acuity. Multimodal quantitative MRI detected postoperative structural and diffusion-related changes after orbital decompression. Reductions in the vertical orbital apex area index and fat space apparent diffusion coefficient showed exploratory associations with patient-reported visual-function improvement, although robustness varied across sensitivity analyses. These measures may complement, but not replace, clinical assessment.

Introduction:
Thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO), also known as thyroid eye disease, is an autoimmune disorder closely related to Graves’ disease, with clinical manifestations including periorbital edema, exophthalmos, and diplopia, and in a few cases, optic nerve compression ( 1 ). Orbital decompression surgery is a core treatment for moderate to severe TAO and dysthyroid optic neuropathy (DON) ( 2 ), effectively expanding the orbital cavity, reducing the pressure at the orbital apex, and alleviating mechanical…

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