Enhancement of the cosmetic and functional outcome of enucleation with the conical orbital implant

Abstract

Objective The authors evaluated a new design of a conical-shaped enucleation implant to help minimize the occurrence of superior sulcus defects and maximize motility of the prosthesis. The implant shape is a modification of a sphere. It has a posterior conical projection paralleling the orbital walls, a superior projection supporting the soft tissues of the upper eyelid sulcus, a flattened anterior surface, and channels for each rectus muscle. Design The study design was a consecutive case series from the Oculoplastics and Orbital Service of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Intervention/participants A total of 45 patients (average age, 40 years; range, 13–75 years) had placement of a conical implant (39 primary enucleations, 6 secondary implants) with a minimum of 1 year’ follow-up (range, 12–36 months). All of the primary enucleations and two of the secondary procedures had the anterior portion of the implant covered with autologous fascia. Four of the secondary implants were covered with pseudocapsule harvested from the explanted primary implant. Prostheses were fit 6 to 10 weeks after surgery. Main outcome measures Postoperative appearance of patients was assessed by qualitative appearance of the superior sulcus and prosthetic motility, and subjectively by patients’ satisfaction. Results A total of 43 patients had minimal or no superior sulcus defect, whereas 2 patients had moderate defects. There were no severe sulcus defects. All patients were satisfied with their appearance and did not seek further surgery to correct any upper sulcus asymmetry. Prosthetic motility with small-angle ductions (<10°) and saccades was good in all cases. There were two cases of conjunctival wound dehiscence. Both occurred within 4 weeks of surgery. One wound dehiscence was sutured, whereas the other healed spontaneously. There were no cases of implant extrusion, migration, or infection. Conclusion The conical orbital implant provides appropriate reconstitution of orbital volume while minimizing superior sulcus defects with adequate prosthetic motility.