Tolosa-Hunt syndrome

Caring for someone with this diagnosis? Eleplan keeps diagnoses, medications, documents and every specialist in one plan.

Start free with Eleplan

Tolosa-Hunt syndrome

ORPHA:64686Disease

Also called Painful ophthalmoplegia

What it is

Tolosa-Hunt syndrome is an ophthalmoplegic syndrome, affecting all age groups, characterized by acute attacks (lasting a few days to a few weeks) of periorbital pain, ipsilateral ocular motor nerve palsies, ptosis, disordered eye movements and blurred vision usually caused by a non-specific inflammatory process in the cavernous sinus and superior orbital fissure. It has an unpredicatable course with spontaneous remission occurring in some and recurrence of attacks in others.

Key facts

Prevalence
1-9 / 1 000 000 (annual incidence)
Age of onset
All ages
Classified as
Disease

Prevalence figures describe populations, not individuals, and are often estimates from a single study. Where the figure is an incidence or a birth prevalence, it says so.

ICD-10 codes

H49.8filed under a broader ICD-10 category — shared with 2 other rare diseases

ICD-10 has no distinct code for most rare diseases, so many are filed under the nearest available one. A shared code identifies the group, not this disease — the ORPHAcode above is what identifies it.

Related health topics

Reached through the ICD-10 categories this disease is filed under, so these describe the broader group rather than this disease specifically.

Cross-references

GARD 7777MEDDRA 10051526MESH D020333MONDO 0018983UMLS C0040381

Orphadata Science: Free access data from Orphanet. © INSERM 1999. Data version 2026-06-23. Available under CC BY 4.0. This is a reference, not medical advice.

Powered by Eleplan

A rare diagnosis is just the start. Eleplan keeps the whole care plan in one place.

Diagnoses, medications, documents, appointments, and the whole care team — organized and always in sync, so you are not retelling the same story to every new specialist. With Ellie, your AI care assistant, on top of it. Free to start.