Long-term follow-up of blowout fractures of the orbital floor reconstructed with a polyglactin 910/PDS implant.

PURPOSE: Resorbable alloplastic materials are used in many surgical applications. This retrospective study evaluated the clinical outcome after reconstruction of traumatic orbital floor defects using a polyglactin 910/PDS implant (Ethisorb™).

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Seventy patients with isolated blowout fractures of the orbital floor resulting in defect sizes of up to 2.5 cm(2) were included in this study. All patients were clinically examined 5 days after surgery at the time of suture removal (T1) and 18 months postoperatively (T2). Diplopia was graded as significant diplopia or diplopia in extreme gaze.

RESULTS: At T1, diplopia was observed in 9% of the patients, swelling of the periorbital region in 6%, and enophthalmus in none of the patients. No persistent complications were observed at T2.

CONCLUSION: Reconstructive surgery of the orbit is one of the most demanding challenges in maxillofacial surgery. For traumatic defects of the orbital floor, reconstruction using a polyglactin 910/PDS implant (Ethisorb(™)) seems to be a reliable method for the repair of small-to-moderate defects.