Management plan and delivery of care in Graves’ ophthalmopathy patients

Most patients with Graves’ orbitopathy have mild disease that requires no or minimal intervention. For the minority of patients with moderate or severe disease, multiple medical and surgical treatments may be required at different stages. It is crucial that such patients are monitored closely and treatments applied with care in the right sequence. Medical treatments should be used as early as possible and only during the active phase of the disease. Rehabilitative surgery is indicated in the inactive phase of the disease and should follow the sequence: surgical decompression followed by eye muscle surgery, followed by lid surgery. Delivery of care in a coordinated fashion that makes use of best available expertise is important and best implemented through a Combined Thyroid Eye clinic.