Clinical efficacy of peek patient-specific implants in orbital reconstruction.

PURPOSE: To assess the clinical efficacy of custom made PEEK patient-specific implants in treatment of orbital wall defects.

METHODS

Forty-five patients with unilateral post-traumatic orbital wall defects were enrolled in the study. They underwent subsequent reconstructive procedures using PEEK patient-specific implants (PSI) or pre-bent titanium plates. All the patients were examined with the standardized algorithm, including local status examination, vision assessment and computer tomography (CT) with measurements of the orbital volume. A comparative analysis of the treatment outcomes in two groups of patients (pre-bent plates/PSI) was performed.

RESULTS

The study findings show an absence of any postoperative infection, inflamation or decreased visual acuity in either group. In PSI group, diplopia after surgery was absent in 82.1% of patients versus 70.6% of controls. The mean duration of surgery was 54.25 ± 16.8 min with PSI application and 82.9 ± 10.8 min with pre-bent plates. The mean difference between the intact and damaged orbital volume was 1.9 ± 1.4 cm3 in the control group versus 0.74 ± 0.6 cm3 in PSI group (р<0.05).

CONCLUSION

PEEK PSI demonstrated higher clinical efficacy in comparison to pre-bent plates in orbital wall reconstruction especially in restoring the volume and shape of the damaged orbit.