To evaluate the post-operative outcomes and to investigate the association between the race and incidence of reactivation following orbital decompression for thyroid orbitopathy.

Retrospective interventional case series of patients with thyroid orbitopathy.

212 eyes of 131 patients were included. The average follow-up duration was seven years. The indications for orbital decompression were medically controlled or refractory active thyroid orbitopathy (67 Caucasian, 6 Asian, 1 others) and cosmesis (52 Caucasian, 2 Asian, 3 Afro-caribbean). Following orbital decompression, the number of patients who had experienced improvement were 43 lid retraction and 122 exophthalmos. One patient had post-operative complication of hypoglobus. There were 5 cases of reactivation i.e.2.36% (all Caucasian, two had 1 trigger factor, one had 2 trigger factors and one had 3 trigger factors). The p-value from Chi-square test was 0.554 (ie race might not be a trigger factor for thyroid orbitopathy reactivation)

Reactivation is rare and more likely in patients with multiple trigger factors. Race may not be a trigger factor for thyroid orbitopathy reactivation.